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Rapid Metabolic and Behavioral Maladaptations Following Short-Term Obesogenic Diet Withdrawal During Postweaning
Breno Picin Casagrande1, Vitória Rios Beserra1, Alessandra Mussi Ribeiro1
1Biosciences Department, Institute of Health and Society, Federal University of São Paulo, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil.
Brain and Behavior
|July 9, 2026
Summary
Short-term withdrawal from obesogenic diets (ODs) in young rats worsened inflammation and anxiety. This dietary transition phase, not recovery, rapidly impacts health.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Neuroscience
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Obesogenic diets (ODs) induce metabolic and inflammatory issues.
- The impact of short-term OD withdrawal on systemic and neuroinflammation is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the short-term effects of OD withdrawal on metabolic, inflammatory, and anxiety-like behaviors in young male rats.
Main Methods:
- Rats were fed control or high-sugar/high-fat (HSHF) diets for 14 days.
- HSHF-fed rats underwent either no withdrawal or a 48-hour withdrawal on a control diet.
- Measurements included food intake, body mass, adiposity, metabolic and inflammatory markers, oxidative stress, and behavior.
Main Results:
- OD intake increased caloric intake, visceral adiposity, and liver fat.
- Withdrawal heightened inflammation in fat, serum, and hippocampus, alongside increased anxiety-like behavior.
- Hippocampal oxidative stress markers correlated with corticosterone and anxiety.
Conclusions:
- Short-term OD withdrawal rapidly exacerbates systemic and neuroinflammation, hippocampal oxidative stress, and anxiety.
- This highlights dietary transition as a distinct, active phase with negative health consequences, not immediate recovery.
