title: Hypercaloric diet modulates effects of chronic stress: a behavioral and biometric study on rats.
abstract: Obesity is a chronic disease that has been associated with chronic stress and hypercaloric diet (HD) consumption. Increased ingestion of food containing sugar and fat ingredients (comfort food) is proposed to "compensate" chronic stress effects. However, this eating habit may increase body fat depositions leading to obesity. This study evaluated behavioral/physiological parameters seeking to establish whether there is an association between the effects of HD intake and stress, and to test the hypothesis that the development of anxious behavior and obesity during chronic stress periods depends on the type of diet. Sixty-day-old male Wistar rats (n = 100) were divided into four groups: standard chow, hypercaloric diet, chronic stress/standard chow and chronic stress/hypercaloric diet. Chronic stress was induced by restraint stress exposure for 1 h/day, for 80 d. At the end of this period, rat behavior was evaluated using open-field and plus-maze tests. The results showed that HD alone increased weight gain and adipose deposition in subcutaneous and mesenteric areas. However, stress reduced weight gain and adipose tissue in these areas. HD also increased naso-anal length and concurrent stress prevented this. Behavioral data indicated that stress increased anxiety-like behaviors and comfort food reduced these anxiogenic effects; locomotor activity increased in rats fed with HD. Furthermore, HD decreased corticosterone levels and stress increased adrenal weight. The data indicate that when rats are given HD and experience chronic stress this association reduces the pro-obesogenic effects of HD, and decreases adrenocortical activity.
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Carla de
authors.initials: Cd
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Cleverson Moraes de
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.|d Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabel Cristina
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: de Macedo
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Alexandre S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Quevedo
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Paulo Ricardo Marques
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Filho
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Fernanda Ribeiro da
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|d Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vercelino
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .
authors.forename: Izabel C Custodio
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .
authors.forename: Wolnei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Caumo
authors.affiliation: a Pharmacology of Pain and Neuromodulation Laboratory: Animal Models, Department of Pharmacology , Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , ICBS , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|b Medicine School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil .|c Animal Experimentation Unit and Graduate Research Group, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil , and.|d Institute of Basic Health Sciences (ICBS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Iraci L S
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001835:Body Weight; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Anxiety-like; chronic stress; elevated plus-maze test; hypercaloric diet; obesity; open-field test