New Delhi, Feb 9 (PTI) People struggling with depression may crave for carbohydrate-rich foods, which could be "related to the overall severity" of their mental condition, according to a study.

Even though patients of depression, marked by a persistent low mood, tend to have less appetite, researchers, including those from the University of Bonn, Germany, said those with severe depression can sometimes develop food cravings.

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"These changes can then lead to a change in body weight", corresponding author Nils Kroemer, a professor of medical psychology at the University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn, said.

For the study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, a group of 117 participants -- 54 with depression and 63 healthy -- were asked to complete a 'food cue reactivity task', by rating 60 food and 20 non-food items for whether they 'wanted' or 'liked' it.

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The researchers found that people with depression showed lower levels of 'wanting' food, but not of 'liking' it.

Further, "compared to carbohydrate-rich foods, patients with (major depressive disorder) reported lower liking and wanting ratings for high-fat and high-protein foods," the authors wrote.

They also found that such patients also had an increased craving for foods combining fat and carbohydrates, such as milk chocolate.

While a craving for carb-rich foods is generally related with a higher appetite, the study showed that "carbohydrate cravings are more related to the overall severity of depression, especially anxiety symptoms," first author Lilly Thurn, currently a postgraduate student at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, said.

Given that these energy-dense foods appeal to the brain's reward system, the findings could help with developing better treatments for depression, the authors said.

"Since carbohydrate-containing foods control the reward response in the brain via different signalling pathways than fat and protein-rich foods, it may be possible to derive better treatment approaches from this," Kroemer said.

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