Today, on the exam room.

People who are overweight, they're 55% more likely to develop depression.

And the other way around, people with depression have a 58% higher risk of developing obesity.

Welcome to the exam room podcast, brought to you by the Physicians Committee.

Hi, I'm the weight loss champion Chuck Carroll, raising health IQs coast to coast and around

the world. Hi to the exam room. He's listening in Clearwater, Florida, Tempe, Arizona,

and Mannheim, Germany.

Wherever you are, we appreciate you helping to make the world a healthier place.

This is episode 23 of season 8, number 622 overall.

Here is something that I did not know.

The brain undergoes a major change during weight loss. The result of this is often a much happier person with much less depression.

But the reason why this is happening goes far beyond just liking the new face that you see in the mirror.

It's not just the slimmer waste.

There are substantial chemical changes that are occurring that alleviate depression, improve your mood,

and boost your mental health.

Dr. Hana Kaleova will be exploring the science behind the brain boosting

benefits of weight loss as she joins us today here on the exam room podcast. So here's what

we're getting into, a little bit nerdy stuff here, the bidirectional relationship between obesity

and depression, high carbohydrate diets, why they are more beneficial than keto diets

for mental health, and then fat quality, carbs, fiber, and flavonoids, why all of them

are so important.

And then we're going to introduce you to a term called BDNF, brain-derived neurotropic factor. And this plays a critical role in mood regulation.

...