
Study: Link Between Junk Food and Depression - lelf
http://time.com/3939974/sugar-junk-food-depression/
======
dzdt
Not mentioned is the possibility causality goes the other way : people who are
feeling depressed react by eating more comfort food higher in added sugars.

~~~
nonbel
This is just one of those studies where they get tens of thousands of people
and then find dozens of correlations with tiny p values between questionable
measurements. Here is what they report correlated with glycemic index quintile
membership using p < 0.0001:

Burnam score (supposedly measures depression), BMI, physical activity,
SFAs,MUFAS,PUFAS, trans fat, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts/seeds, dietary
fiber, healthy eating index score, Age, Race, education, income, hypertension,
hormone replacement therapy, alcohol intake, smoking status, stressful life
events, social support

Here is their description of this scale:

"The Burnam scale includes 2 items from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule and
6 items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale.
Questionnaire responses were used to calculate the Burnam score with the use
of a logistic regression–based algorithm; values for the scale ranged from 0
to 99, with higher scores indicating greater depressive symptomatology."

Mean scores for lowest and highest glycemic index quintiles were .0209 +/-.09
and .0273 +/-.1, respectively. I have no feel for what these numbers mean, but
~.03 on a scale of 0-99 doesn't sound very depressed.

------
diogenescynic
Junk food could also be seen as a proxy for having a low-income. High-income
earners can indulge in healthier foods or reward/treat themselves in other
ways.

