Associations among depressive mood, BMI, and added sugar consumption among Arizona State University freshmen

Although many studies have looked into the relationship between depression and eating behaviors, most have not looked into the interaction between depressive mood, weight status, and eating behaviors; specifically the consumption of added sugars. This longitudinal study examined the relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption among college freshmen, and how weight status play a role in this relationship. A web-based survey assessing depressive mood score and added-sugar foods consumption, and height and weight measurements were obtained. A total of 511 participants (aged 18.5±0.4 years; 70.5% females) were recruited at Arizona State University from August 2015 through January 2016. The main outcomes measured were the relationship between depressive mood score and added sugar consumption (tsp/d) within each participants and between mean weight status groups (underweight & “healthy” weight, overweight, and obese). In the study, the mean added sugar consumption was 19.1±11.87 tsp/d. There were no significant association between depressive mood and added sugar consumption within or between freshman students over time. But overall, there was a slightly positive relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption across four time points. No significant interaction was found between BMI, depressive mood, and added sugar consumption within each student, but significant differences in the relationship of depressive mood and added sugar between mean weight status groups (p=0.025). Each individual’s BMI in the previous time points was significantly negatively associated with added sugar consumption in the current time points (beta = -0.70; p=0.010). The results from this study indicates that depressive mood may not affect added sugar intake in this sample. BMI did not have an impact on the relationship within each student, but have an impact between mean weight status groups, so further studies are needed to continue look at how BMI influences the relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption.