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Debts raise risk of obesity

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-02 09:55

People who are heavily in debt are more likely to be heavy themselves, too, according to new research from Germany.

"Overindebted" people - defined as those who would find it impossible to pay off debts in a reasonable time frame - are about twice as likely to be overweight as the general population. They are more than 2.5 times as likely to be obese, Eva Muenster of the University of Mainz and her colleagues have found.

Muenster and her colleagues find that being overindebted is associated with a 1.97-fold greater likelihood of being overweight, and a 2.56-fold greater risk of obesity.

Psychological factors could contribute to the greater risk of being overweight or obese among indebted people, Muenster and her team note, who may eat to cope with stress and depression. Healthy foods may be less affordable for them while "energy-dense foods are often less expensive compared to food with lower energy density, such as fruit or vegetables".