title: Cafeteria diet-induced obesity plus chronic stress alter serum leptin levels.
abstract: Obesity is a disease that has become a serious public health issue worldwide, and chronic stressors, which are a problem for modern society, cause neuroendocrine changes with alterations in food intake. Obesity and chronic stress are associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. In this study, a rat model was used to evaluate the effects of a hypercaloric diet plus chronic restraint stress on the serum leptin and lipids levels and on the weight of specific adipose tissue (mesenteric, MAT; subcutaneous, SAT and visceral, VAT). Wistar rats were divided into the following 4 groups: standard chow (C), hypercaloric diet (HD), stress plus standard chow (S), and stress plus hypercaloric diet (SHD). The animals in the stress groups were subjected to chronic stress (placed inside a 25 cm × 7 cm plastic tube for 1h per day, 5 days per week for 6 weeks). The following parameters were evaluated: the weight of the liver, adrenal glands and specific adipose tissue; the delta weight; the Lee index; and the serum levels of leptin, corticosterone, glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. The hypercaloric diet induced obesity in rats, increasing the Lee index, weight, leptin, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels. The stress decreased weight gain even in animals fed a hypercaloric diet but did not prevent a significant increase in the Lee index. However, an interaction between the independent factors (hypercaloric diet and stress) was observed, which is demonstrated by the increased serum leptin levels in the animals exposed to both protocols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Institute of Basic Health Sciences, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rozisky
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Scarabelot
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Cioato
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Caumo
authors.forename: I L S
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D002149:Energy Intake; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin; D008055:Lipids; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D003345:Corticosterone