Proposal范文

Abstract
The growing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a major public health concern. Among the U.S. adult population, the prevalence of obesity (defined as a body mass index ranges from 30.0 kg/m2 to 99.8 kg/m2) increased from approximately 20% in 2000 to 27% in 2008. Previous researches indicated that obesity might be significantly associated with depression. Several researches conducted in the United States and Canada have indicated associations between obesity and depressive symptoms, measures of psychological distress, and history of depression. However, none of the studies to date has been conducted based on the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS). The propounded study participants will be 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) responders. The 2006 BRFSS was chosen due to a significant set of “healthy days” questions along with some optional modules and state- added questions. Findings from this research can provide instructions to government officers on making social policy decisions to help people in need of mental health services.
Key words: obesity, depression, PHQ, BRFSS
Specific Aims
The growing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a major public health concern. Among the U.S. adult population, the prevalence of obesity (defined as a body mass index ranges from 30.0 kg/m2 to 99.8 kg/m2) increased from approximately 20% in 2000 to 27% in 2008 [1]. Obesity can lead to many kinds of disease problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis and poor health status. Usually, the overweight or obesity prevalence is perceived due to the consequence of an energy imbalance, with energy intake exceeding that of energy expenditure. It is estimated that each year, among the U.S. death persons, 280,000 of whom are attributed to obesity or overweight [2]. Obesity-related morbidity is estimated to account for 9.1% of total annual U.S. medical expenditures each year [3].
Previous researches indicated that obesity might be significantly associated with depression [4,5]. Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders [6]. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 2000 estimated that 9.5% of the U.S. populations suffer from a depressive illness in any given year [7]. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that, during the years 2005-2006, 11.29% of total U.S. adults had experienced serious psychological distress in past year [8]. Several researches conducted in the United States and Canada have indicated associations between obesity and depressive symptoms [9], measures of psychological distress [10], and history of depression [11]. It is reported that the relationship between depression and obesity is dependent upon different gender, age, and race/ ethnics. People younger than 65 years old are much more prone to get depressed than their counterparts [9]. Besides, significant positive associations between depression and obesity are observed among women but not men [12,13,14]. However, when it comes to the relationship between depression and obesity dependent upon different races, there are some discrepancies. One report indicated that the Non-Hispanic Whites had a higher rate of depression compared to Non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians [15]. Another report observed that Hispanics are much more prone to get depressed than Whites and Blacks [9].
The association between o