Research Highlights

Nature Reviews Endocrinology | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0169-7 | Published online xx xx xxxx

M ETA B O LI S M

Anxiety-induced

Credit: Jennie Vallis/Springer Nature Limited

weight loss
Research has linked anxiety
disorders with body weight
change in humans, but the
precise relationship
between them is unclear.
For example, the persistent
activation of the sympathetic
nervous system could result
in increased energy
expenditure via heightened adaptive thermogenesis, but high
levels of glucocorticoids (which are common in anxiety
disorders) could result in increased visceral adiposity.
Now, new research by Baoji Xu and colleagues has revealed
a link between anxiety and hyper-metabolism. The authors
found that increases in the activation of anxiogenic circuits
can reduce body weight via the promotion of adaptive
thermogenesis and basal metabolism. The researchers note
that this is the first study to report this link. “Although two
papers show an association between anxiety disorders and
extra weight gain in children, we did not find any published
studies that examine if and how anxiety affects metabolism
and body weight,” adds Xu.
Xu and his team are interested in the role of brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the control of energy balance.
“We and others have shown that mutations in the gene for
BDNF or its receptor, TrkB, lead to marked hyperphagia and
severe obesity in both humans and mice,” explains Xu. “In this
study, we aimed to identify the BDNF-expressing brain areas
that are involved in the regulation of energy balance.”
In the present study, the investigators knocked out Bdnf in
specific brains regions of mice using region-specific gene
deletion. Xu and colleagues then used behavioural and
biochemical analyses to study their mouse model. They found
that the deletion of Bdnf in the dorsal forebrain resulted in a
lean mouse that was resistant to obesity when fed a high-fat
diet. “Further analyses of the mutant mice led us to realize a
link between anxiety and hyper-metabolism; thus, this was
a discovery by serendipity,” adds Xu.
The team report that elevated adaptive thermogenesis in
their mouse model was accompanied by increased food intake,
while elevated basal metabolic rate did not affect food
intake. “This observation suggests that it could be a more
effective therapy for obesity to increase the basal metabolic
rate than to elevate adaptive thermogenesis,” explains Xu.
He does note, however, that more studies are necessary to
substantiate this view.
Xu hopes that the present study might help us understand
why people with anxiety sometimes report weight loss.
“We are interested in the neural circuit that links anxiety to
increased energy expenditure” concludes Xu. “I think that a
good strategy for treating obesity could be to target parts
of this neural circuit (of course, without affecting mood).”
Alan Morris
Original article Xie, X. N. et al. Activation of anxiogenic circuits instigates
resistance to diet-induced obesity via increased energy expenditure. Cell Metab.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2018.12.018 (2019)

Nature Reviews | Endocrinology