Recent research has shown that patients who regularly suffer from depression and other mental health disorders are prone to gain more weight as compared with people who do not suffer from mental disorders. The patients of depression might also become obese over a period of time. It was found that people who had repeat episodes or had a chronic history of depression were more inclined to weight gain with passage of time. People who had more incidences of depression were found to be more inclined to weight gain as compared to the group which had lesser or no incidences of mental disorders. The risk of weight gain increased with the incidences of symptoms.

Weight gain and depression are generally inter-dependent and the cycle of eating out of loneliness, boredom or the feeling of being alone is a vicious one causing weight gain. The contributing factors for depression and weight gain are stress, insomnia and weather change. Stress is caused when a person is unable to strike a balance between the various things that are happening in his or her life. This causes the stress levels to rise significantly leading the body to go into a fight or flight mode. The increased stress causes the body to release high concentrations of cortisol into the blood stream. This in turn causes more cravings for food and people tend to resort to food to beat the stress.

Insomnia or the difficulty in going to sleep at night is another contributor to depression. If you have a tendency of waking up frequently at nigh or have difficulty in getting back to sleep or wake up even before the alarm sets off, your body will not be able to get adequate rest. The insufficiency of sleep will cause the weight to increase and also tends to cause depression.

The surprise factor in causes of depression is the change in weather. When the weather gets cold, people tend to eat foods that are rich in calories to stay in a good mood. The cold weather tends to increase the incidence of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. A person suffering form SAD would be more inclined to sleeping more, less energetic and have a craving for carbs. This leads to weight gain.

In order to fight depression and the increased weight gain associated with it, a person should exercise regularly. It not only helps fight weight gain but also helps in keeping depression at bay. It is advised to follow a regular routine so that a person gets lasting results.

Talking to friends and family is a great help for fighting off depression. Family is a great support system. Use of relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, tai chi help in relieving stress. Keeping a journal of your thoughts and weight loss can go a great way in helping you fight off the depression.

Eat a well balanced healthy diet so that the energy levels remain the same throughout the day.