Using data on 251,125 individuals of white British ancestry from the UK Biobank, researchers investigated the correlation between depression and BMI. They also examined whether individuals with or without depression differ in genetic susceptibility to high BMI. They conducted a Mendelian randomization analysis in which they identified observational and genetic evidence of an association between depression and BMI. Furthermore, individuals with depression exhibited a higher contribution of genetic risk to high BMI than controls. The researchers speculated that the link between depression and obesity might involve MC4R, a gene perceived to influence both appetite regulation and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.