Microbiome Contributes to Obesity-Related Depression and Anxiety in Mice

People with type 2 diabetes and obesity are known to more likely develop neuropsychiatric and mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Work in mice by researchers in the U.S. and Japan now suggests that bacteria in the gut—the microbiome—may contribute to depressive-type behaviors in animals with diet-induced obesity (DIO).The studies, headed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, found that animals fed a high-fat diet (HFD) exhibited increased signs of anxiety, depression,