title: The effect of high-fat diet on rat's mood, feeding behavior and response to stress.
abstract: An association between obesity and depression has been indicated in studies addressing common physical (metabolic) and psychological (anxiety, low self-esteem) outcomes. Of consideration in both obesity and depression are chronic mild stressors to which individuals are exposed to on a daily basis. However, the response to stress is remarkably variable depending on numerous factors, such as the physical health and the mental state at the time of exposure. Here a chronic mild stress (CMS) protocol was used to assess the effect of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity on response to stress in a rat model. In addition to the development of metabolic complications, such as glucose intolerance, diet-induced obesity caused behavioral alterations. Specifically, animals fed on HFD displayed depressive- and anxious-like behaviors that were only present in the normal diet (ND) group upon exposure to CMS. Of notice, these mood impairments were not further aggravated when the HFD animals were exposed to CMS, which suggest a ceiling effect. Moreover, although there was a sudden drop of food consumption in the first 3 weeks of the CMS protocol in both ND and HFD groups, only the CMS-HFD displayed an overall noticeable decrease in total food intake during the 6 weeks of the CMS protocol. Altogether, the study suggests that HFD impacts on the response to CMS, which should be considered when addressing the consequences of obesity in behavior.
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3748-9896
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aslani
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7166-4336
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8755-5126
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.|Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Guimarães, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Palha
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000523:psychology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*