Can Cutting Calories Improve Your Mood?

In research like the CALERIE study, there’s a tendency to focus on physical changes but what about mood, depression, and quality of life (QOL)? Did researchers find changes in those variables as well? Let’s take a look. While the two-year span of the data analyzed varied slightly from other phases of the study, physiological results were virtually identical to the other phases I’ve talked about in previous Memos.

Testing Procedures

For those readers familiar with the assessment tools typically used in measuring psychological variables, here’s a list of the instruments they used.

Mood: Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II] and the Profile of Mood States [POMS]

QOL: Rand 36-Item Short Form and Perceived Stress Scale

Sleep: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]

Sexual function: Derogatis Interview for Sexual Function Self-report

Results

For simplicity’s sake, I won’t use numbers to report the results, because unless one is familiar with the scale for each assessment it wouldn’t be meaningful. Every following relationship was statistically significant or correlated. Compared with the ad libitum (AL) group, the caloric restriction (CR) group had significantly improved mood, reduced tension, and improved general health and sexual drive at month 24. Sleep duration had improved by month 12 and was sustained through month 24.

Greater percent weight loss in the CR group at month 24 was associated with increased vigor and less mood disturbance, improved general health, and better sleep quality. The researchers concluded that there was no negative impact of CR on psychological variables in normal-weight people.

I have a tendency to put more faith in measurable variables such as blood pressure or heart rate than inventories and questionnaires, but the results demonstrated that all measures moved in a positive direction when restricting calories: better perception of mood, health, QOL, more and better sleep, and even sexual vigor. There are indications that CR may be beneficial even in people who are normal weight.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Jun 1;176(6):743-52.