The menace of obesity to depression and anxiety prevalence

• Published in: Trends in endocrinology and metabolism Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 18 - 35
• Main Authors: Fulton, Stephanie, Décarie-Spain, Léa, Fioramonti, Xavier, Guiard, Bruno, Nakajima, Shingo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: adiposity; Anxiety; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - etiology; Depression - metabolism; Endocrinology and metabolism; Food and Nutrition; Human health and pathology; Humans; Inflammation - metabolism; Life Sciences; mood disorder; Neurobiology; neuroinflammation; Neurons and Cognition; neuroplasticity; nutrition; Obesity - complications; Obesity - epidemiology; Prevalence; Psychiatrics and mental health; stress; stress; adiposity; nutrition; mood disorder; neuroinflammation; neuroplasticity; Mood disorder; Neuroplasticity; Neuroinflammation; Adiposity; Nutrition; Stress
• ISSN: 1043-2760; 1879-3061
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2021.10.005

The incidence of depression and anxiety is amplified by obesity. Mounting evidence reveals that the psychiatric consequences of obesity stem from poor diet, inactivity, and visceral adipose accumulation. Resulting metabolic and vascular dysfunction, including inflammation, insulin and leptin resistance, and hypertension, have emerged as key risks to depression and anxiety development. Recent research advancements are exposing the important contribution of these different corollaries of obesity and their impact on neuroimmune status and the neural circuits controlling mood and emotional states. Along these lines, this review connects the clinical manifestations of depression and anxiety in obesity to our current understanding of the origins and biology of immunometabolic threats to central nervous system function and behavior. Obesity increases the incidence of depression and anxiety as a function of the extent of metabolic dysfunction.Diets that include excess saturated fat and sugar intake promote metabolic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and mental health impairments.Adipose- and gut-derived inflammation and changes in brain nutrient composition stimulate neuroinflammation.Neuroinflammation alters structure, excitability, and connectivity in corticolimbic networks controlling mood, motivation, and emotion.