Obesity in Ecuador: An In-depth Look at its Influence on Mental Well-being

Abstract

Analyzing the empirical relationship between obesity and mental health in the Ecuadorian population contributes significantly to the literature since obesity is an important risk factor for somatic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, liver damage, respiratory diseases and arthropathies. However, obesity also constitutes one of the main "social stigmas", with a marked impact on the individual psychological level. The high prevalence of psychological pathology in obese patients makes it possible to visualize it as a psychiatric problem, which should be identified and treated simultaneously with weight control programs. A nationally representative sample of men and women over 18 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018 (ENSANUT) was used. A binary logistic linear regression model was used where Odds Ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated for each of the independent variables. Our results show that those with a Body Mass Index ≥ 30 have a higher propensity to suffer from chronic mental disorders. That is, our results reveal that obesity increased 2.32 times (OR= 2.32; CI=1.91-2.17) the probability of suffering from chronic mental illnesses. This result is statistically significant (p<0.05). It was also shown that women in rural areas, with lower income and low schooling are more susceptible to mental disorders compared to the rest of the population. Another interesting result is that individuals working in the informal sector presented a greater probability of presenting psychological pathologies, this result is differentiated between men (OR= 1.032; CI=1.321-1.765) and women (OR= 1.056; CI=1.032-1.076), the effect being greater in informal women. Obesity and mental health disorders are two relevant problems in the world public health debate mainly due to their high physical and economic costs, which affect a high percentage of the population. Positive and statistically significant effects of obesity with psychological pathology were found in the general Ecuadorian population. This work was able to demonstrate the approximation of the relationship between obesity and mental health in a country in which the prevalence of both problems has increased considerably over the years.