High-fat teenage diet linked to mental disorders in later life

By Will Chu

- Last updated on GMT

Teenagers with a diet high in fatty foods could be at increased risk for mental disorders such as despression. ©iStock/Julie_Bartoo
Teenagers with a diet high in fatty foods could be at increased risk for mental disorders such as despression. ©iStock/Julie_Bartoo

Related tags Brain Neuron

A high-fat diet may have consequences on mental health in later life, according to a recent mouse study. "A careful nutritional balance during this sensitive period is pivotal," says the lead researcher.

French and Swiss researchers have documented a series of biological mechanisms, triggered by fatty foods eaten during adolescence, that appear to impair the creation of a protein that regulates brain function.

Consequently, impaired higher cognitive functions such as behavioural flexibility and memory become apparent in later life.

The results of the research give clues as to how unhealthy foods and obesity promote the development of neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions.

The findings are of particular significance in the adolescent phase, where there is an increased caloric need and heightened appetite that fuels brain development during this period.

Diet decline

neuro brain cognitive
Reelin deficiency is also a feature repeatedly documented in brain disorders such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease. ©iStock

According to the researchers, a declining quality of diets over the past few decades and a lack of understanding of the impact these diets have on neurons will have a bearing on the future rates of various brain conditions.

"Although more studies are definitely needed, high-fat diets could potentially exacerbate the synaptic deficits in patients with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease or even aggravate cognitive anomalies,"​ said Dr Urs Meyer, professor of pharmacology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

Mice fed high-fat foods mice exhibited cognitive defects as early as four weeks, according to the study. This was more evident in adolescent mice and not those fed an identical diet during adulthood.

Along with observed weight gain, Dr Meyer, along with co-study author Dr Pascale Chavis from the INMED Institute in Marseille observed tangible changes to the frontal region in the brain known as the prefrontal cortex.

"This brain region is very interesting," ​said Dr Chavis. “Unlike the rest of the brain, it is not fully developed until early adulthood."

"Our study highlights that the quality of the food eaten by teenagers may also be particularly important for an optimal maturation of the prefrontal cortex,"​ added Dr Marie Labouesse, lead author of the study.

Reelin deficiency

In particular, the team observed that the prefrontal cortex of mice fed high-fat foods had fewer neurons expressing reelin – a protein that controls neuron function, and their ability to adapt to changes in brain activity.

"Our findings suggest that a careful nutritional balance during this sensitive period is pivotal for reaching the full capacity of adult prefrontal functions,"​ Labouesse said.

Reelin deficiency is also a characteristic documented extensively in brain disorders. “The fact that the reelin protein displays vulnerability towards the negative effects of unhealthy foods is fascinating from the scientific perspective,” ​concluded Dr Chavis.

“It is also very worrying when we think of the potential impact this might have for human health."  

Source: Molecular Psychiatry

Published online ahead of print, DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.193

“Hypervulnerability of the adolescent prefrontal cortex to nutritional stress via reelin deficiency.”

Authors: Urs Meyer et al.

Related topics Science Diet and health Reformulation

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2 comments

Rodent HFD is also high sugar

Posted by Gerald Davies MD,

It is misleading to call these rodent diets High Fat as they are also high in sucrose and other glycemic carbs http://www.kliba-nafag.ch/neutral/download/2127.pdf

Their metabolic effects are quite different to a high fat carb restricted "ketogenic" diet. Headlines demonizing fat alone would be misleading. The combination of fat and sugar have the worst metabolic effects, the headlines should read high fat and sugar diets, this would not be surprising at all.

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all types fat?

Posted by Miss Ann Thropist,

"a high fat diet" and "fatty foods"?
And no qualification or designation of the types or sources of the fats?
Thus you must mean ALL and ANY fat.
So now Olive Oil is unhealthy and associated with cognitive decline?
Okay, better stop eating it.. and Avocado Oil and Walnut Oil.

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