Restrictive Diets Linked to Depression, Study Finds

Your Diet Might Be Making You Depressed (And Men Are At Bigger Risk)

Research from 30,000 Americans shows restrictive eating backfires on mental health

That keto diet making you cranky? The intermittent fasting leaving you foggy? You're not imagining things. New research dropped some uncomfortable truths about what restrictive dieting actually does to our brains—and it's not pretty.

Scientists looked at data from nearly 30,000 Americans over 11 years and found something nobody expected: people following restrictive diets were more likely to show signs of depression. Not less likely. More likely.

Even weirder? Men got slammed harder than women across every type of restrictive eating pattern studied.

The "Clean Eating" Contradiction

We've been sold a story. Eat clean, cut calories, follow the rules—and you'll feel amazing. Influencers from Instagram showing off their acai bowls. Wellness gurus promise mental clarity through elimination diets. The science seemed to back it up too.

Except there's a massive gap between controlled research studies and what people actually do when they diet.

In those famous studies showing mood improvements from "healthy" eating, participants got carefully planned meals designed by nutritionists. Every macro counted, every vitamin accounted for. Real life? Most of us wing it with whatever diet trend is hot, often cutting out entire food groups without much thought to what our brains actually need.

The researchers publishing in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health wanted to see what happens when regular people restrict their eating in the real world. They pulled data from the massive National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—the kind of unglamorous but crucial research that tracks what Americans actually eat and how they feel.

Men Take the Biggest Hit

Here's where it gets interesting. While both sexes showed increased depression symptoms on restrictive diets, men consistently fared worse. Way worse.

Every single type of dietary restriction studied—cutting calories, eliminating specific nutrients, following medical diets—hit men harder psychologically. They showed more severe mood problems, more anxiety about physical symptoms, more cognitive issues.

Why? The researchers think men might need more of certain nutrients, especially the ones that keep brains running smoothly. When those get slashed during restrictive eating, male brains seem to suffer more.

It's like the difference between a pickup truck and a sports car running on cheap gas. Both will struggle, but one handles the poor fuel worse than the other.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Studies of 28,525 people, showing about 8% showed signs of depression. But here's the kicker: people on calorie-restrictive diets scored higher on depression tests than those not dieting at all.

The differences weren't huge—we're talking fractions of points on psychological scales. But in a country where millions of people diet at any given time, those small increases translate to a lot of unnecessary suffering.

Overweight people got hit even harder. When they restricted calories, their depression scores jumped nearly twice as much as the general population.

Your Brain on Restriction

Think about what actually happens when you severely limit food. Your body doesn't just burn fat and call it a day. It goes into conservation mode, shifting hormones, altering neurotransmitters, basically rewiring itself for survival.

Your brain, which burns through about 20% of your daily calories despite being only 2% of your body weight, doesn't get the memo that this is voluntary. It just knows resources are scarce.

The brain’s glucose supply—the sugar behind clear thinking—gets rationed. Omega-3 fats that maintain cell flexibility become limited. Essential B vitamins, proteins, and minerals needed for neurotransmitters may all fall short.

Meanwhile, stress hormones like cortisol ramp up. Your body is literally interpreting your diet as a crisis situation.

The Yo-Yo Factor

There’s also the emotional rollercoaster of yo-yo, or weight cycling, dieting. Most restrictive diets fail. People lose weight, feel deprived, eventually break the rules, gain it back, feel guilty, start over.

This cycle doesn't just mess with your metabolism. It creates a constant state of psychological stress. You're either white-knuckling through restriction or beating yourself up for "failing." Both situations take a toll on mental health.

The Real Takeaway

Let’s set the record straight: there’s no reason to ditch your meal prep. Solid nutrition is closely tied to mental well-being. Research backs the Mediterranean diet, rich in omega-3s and antioxidants, along with fruit-, vegetable-, and whole grain–based diets.

The problem isn't eating well. It's the restriction mindset. The elimination of entire food groups. The severe calorie cutting. The constant vigilance and guilt that comes with diet culture.

Professor Sumantra Ray from the NNEdPro Global Institute points out that this research raises questions about diets that cut out nutrients known to support brain health. When you eliminate healthy fats, you might be eliminating mood stability too.

A Different Approach

Let's rephrase the question from "what should I cut out," to strategically focused "what does my brain need to function well?"

Steady energy from complex carbs. Healthy fats for hormone production and brain structure. Adequate protein for neurotransmitters. Vitamins and minerals for the thousands of chemical reactions happening in your head every second.

The research suggests that sustainable approaches to health—ones that don't trigger the body's starvation response or create psychological stress—might be better for both physical and mental wellbeing.

This doesn't mean abandoning health goals. It means pursuing them in ways that actually work with your biology instead of against it.

Looking Beyond the Study

This study isn’t perfect. Because it’s observational, it can’t prove that restrictive dieting directly leads to depression. It’s also possible that people restrict food because they’re already depressed.

Still, when you combine these findings with what we know about brain chemistry, stress, and the psychology of restriction, the message is clear: sometimes our version of “healthy eating” may be fueling the very issues we hope to fix.

For men especially, the evidence suggests that extreme dietary approaches come with hidden mental health costs that might outweigh any physical benefits.

The solution isn't to give up on nutrition. It's to pursue it in ways that support both body and mind—something diet culture has never been particularly good at.

Study Details & Sources

Primary Research:

• Published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, 2025

• Analyzed data from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2007-2018

• 28,525 participants: 14,329 women, 14,196 men

• Used Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to measure depression symptoms

Key Findings:

• 2,508 participants (8%) showed depressive symptoms

• Calorie-restrictive dieters scored 0.29 points higher on depression scale

• Overweight individuals on restrictive diets: 0.46 point increase

• Men showed greater vulnerability across all restrictive diet types

• Nutrient-restrictive diets linked to 0.61 point increase among overweight participants

Diet Categories Studied:

1. Calorie-restrictive diets (8% of participants)

2. Nutrient-restrictive diets (3% of participants) - low fat, sugar, salt, carbs, etc.

3. Established dietary patterns (2% of participants) - medical diets like diabetic diets

4. No specific diet (87% of participants)

Expert Input:

• Professor Sumantra Ray, Chief Scientist, NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health

• Co-publisher of BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health with BMJ Group

Proposed Mechanisms:

• Nutritional deficiencies in protein, vitamins, minerals during real-world restriction

• Reduced glucose availability affecting brain function

• Lower omega-3 intake compromising neural health

• Physiological stress response to caloric restriction

• Psychological stress from weight cycling and dietary failure

• Gender differences in nutritional requirements

Study Limitations:

• Observational design cannot establish causation

• Self-reported dietary information may be inaccurate

• Small effect sizes require further validation

• Contrasts with controlled trials using balanced, supervised diets

Related Research Areas:

• Mediterranean diet and depression studies

• Omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive function

• Weight cycling and metabolic health

• Gender differences in nutritional psychiatry

• Caloric restriction and stress hormone responses