Depression and Stress Level according to BMI

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of depression and stress level according to obesity in an effort to obtain some information on how to relieve depression and lower stress level based on the results of BMI evaluation. As for the experience of depression, the rates of depression expression were higher among the respondents who were male, who had been married yet had no spouses, who were less educated and whose income levels were lower, and stress levels were higher among the respondents who were female, who were younger, who were unmarried, who were better educated and whose income levels were higher. BMIs were higher in the respondents who were male, who were in their 50s, who had been married and had spouses, who were secondary-school graduates, who engaged in economic activity and whose income was between 2.01 and 3 million won. Regarding stress level and the experience of depression according to BMI classifi- cation, stress levels were highest in the underweight group, and the experience of depression was most common in the under-weight group as well. BMI may depend on diverse characteristics, but the finding that depression and stress were severer in the underweight group should be taken into account, and it seems necessary to improve eating habits and life habits even amid hectic life to control weight.