Weight Loss May Lessen Chronic Pain and Improve Mental Health

If you’re on a quest to shed pounds, you may reap benefits you never expected.

A recent study conducted in December of 2017 reports that obese patients that undergo significant weight loss experience reduced fatigue, reduced chronic pain, fewer depression symptoms, and lower levels of inflammation.¹

In this study, researchers evaluated 157 participants for the effects of significant weight loss over the span of 12 to 16 weeks. Those who lost 10 percent or more of their body weight enjoyed the most dramatic improvements in how they felt both mentally and physically.

Weight Loss and Chronic Pain

Carrying around excess weight puts a lot of stress on the body. Those who are obese are more likely to report severe pain on a regular basis.²  An increased BMI is also associated with reduced activity and complete disability.

Overweight individuals are more likely to report low back pain, tension-type or migraine headaches, abdominal pain, and chronic widespread pain.³

Obesity and Mental Health

There is an association between obesity and mental illness. Obese children and adolescents have a higher risk of binge eating disorders, poor self-esteem, and mood disorders.⁴

The higher the BMI, the higher the incidence of depressive symptoms and bipolar disorders.⁵ Overweight females are more likely to be depressed than healthy-weight females, and obesity is associated with major depressive disorder in females. Abdominal obesity, specifically, is associated with depression in both men and women.⁶

Anxiety has an even stronger association with obesity than depression. Interestingly, the anxiety-obesity connection was stronger in those with lower education levels.⁷

How Weight Loss Helps

In another study, overweight female patients lost weight over a 64-week period. By the end of the study, these women reported significant improvements in pain in the lower backs and feet. They also enjoyed better mobility. They were better able to lift themselves up after falling over, to walk upstairs, lift heavy objects, climb onto high stools, performing their own pedicures, and were better able to rise from the floor or low furniture.⁸

Mental health greatly improves after substantial weight loss as well. Women who showed depressive symptoms while obese enjoyed significant improvements after losing weight. This might be related to the fact that significantly obese people face stigmatization and discrimination, which can cause or aggravate mental illness. Furthermore, since mobility suffers and disability increases with obesity, the ensuing lack of activity can exacerbate depression.⁹

This tells us that weight loss has a positive effect on pain, perceived disability, and allows for higher functioning both mentally and physically. Those following the ketogenic diet and an exercise plan to lose weight can feel confident that better days lie ahead.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.

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Rebecca McCusker

Rebecca has been freelance writing since she was eighteen years old, and she is especially passionate about health and wellness topics. She lives in the Ohio countryside with her husband and two Australian Shepherds, and when she's not writing, she's playing piano and guitar in her folk-rock band, Linden Hollow.

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