Obesity is a multifactorial disease characterized by the excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue and peripheral organs. In general, this disease is becoming a problem in the global population due to its strong impact on health, economy and quality of life. Similarly, stress, both physical and psychological, can be seen as a part of life that every individual will experience to some extent. There is growing evidence that social and environmental stressors increase susceptibility to a range of diseases, including common causes of both morbidity and mortality. The detrimental effects of stress on health conditions stem from both its physiological strain on the body and individuals tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as poor dietary habits, as a coping mechanism.
Stress and obesity are intertwined through multiple interconnected pathways encompassing cognition, behavior, physiology, and biochemistry, but it seems that not all individuals respond to stress in the same way. For instance, an interesting pathway involved in both stress and obesity is the glucocorticoid stress hormone cortisol pathway. Chronic stress, pain, inflammation, consumption of food with a high glycemic index, and a reduced amount of sleep are normally present in our modern society, characterized by high food intake and low physical activity, and these stressed factors are associated with an increase in cortisol production, which in turn contributes to obesity. Another condition with public health implications is the major depression, which is frequently co-occurring with obesity, it also can be caused by stress. Interestingly, the relationship between these conditions is bidirectional, the presence of one increases the risk for developing the other. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand the mechanisms underlying these intertwined physiological spirals. Furthermore, another important factor to consider is genetics, because there is evidence that genetic variation as well as epigenetic effects that predisposes to inflammation and metabolic disturbances could interact with environmental factors, such as diet, modulating individual susceptibility to developing obesity phenotype. It has been shown in some studies that nutrients and dietary bioactive compounds play a crucial role in regulating gene expression, which in turn has a significant impact on health. For example, genetic variants, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms in antioxidant defense system genes, could alter the efficacy of these enzymes and, ultimately, the risk of obesity, once that the oxidative stress is due to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species or diminished antioxidant defenses.
In the future, the characterization of identification of mechanisms involved in stress and obesity could contribute to the development of controlled therapies that would be potentially beneficial for the prevention and treatment of stress-obesity conditions and its derived metabolic complications.
Keywords:
stress, depression, obesity, biochemistry, molecular
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Obesity is a multifactorial disease characterized by the excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue and peripheral organs. In general, this disease is becoming a problem in the global population due to its strong impact on health, economy and quality of life. Similarly, stress, both physical and psychological, can be seen as a part of life that every individual will experience to some extent. There is growing evidence that social and environmental stressors increase susceptibility to a range of diseases, including common causes of both morbidity and mortality. The detrimental effects of stress on health conditions stem from both its physiological strain on the body and individuals tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as poor dietary habits, as a coping mechanism.
Stress and obesity are intertwined through multiple interconnected pathways encompassing cognition, behavior, physiology, and biochemistry, but it seems that not all individuals respond to stress in the same way. For instance, an interesting pathway involved in both stress and obesity is the glucocorticoid stress hormone cortisol pathway. Chronic stress, pain, inflammation, consumption of food with a high glycemic index, and a reduced amount of sleep are normally present in our modern society, characterized by high food intake and low physical activity, and these stressed factors are associated with an increase in cortisol production, which in turn contributes to obesity. Another condition with public health implications is the major depression, which is frequently co-occurring with obesity, it also can be caused by stress. Interestingly, the relationship between these conditions is bidirectional, the presence of one increases the risk for developing the other. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand the mechanisms underlying these intertwined physiological spirals. Furthermore, another important factor to consider is genetics, because there is evidence that genetic variation as well as epigenetic effects that predisposes to inflammation and metabolic disturbances could interact with environmental factors, such as diet, modulating individual susceptibility to developing obesity phenotype. It has been shown in some studies that nutrients and dietary bioactive compounds play a crucial role in regulating gene expression, which in turn has a significant impact on health. For example, genetic variants, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms in antioxidant defense system genes, could alter the efficacy of these enzymes and, ultimately, the risk of obesity, once that the oxidative stress is due to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species or diminished antioxidant defenses.
In the future, the characterization of identification of mechanisms involved in stress and obesity could contribute to the development of controlled therapies that would be potentially beneficial for the prevention and treatment of stress-obesity conditions and its derived metabolic complications.
Keywords:
stress, depression, obesity, biochemistry, molecular
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.