A Perspective on Food Addiction through Gut Microbiota

Abstract

Eating behavior is characterized by the balance between homeostatic and hedonic regulatory mechanisms and is highly influenced by environmental signals. Eating behavior depends on internal and external factors such as genetics, taste of food, and environment. The gut microbiota is an important environmental contributor to host physiology and influences feeding behavior. Additionally, the gut microbiota performs numerous functions in the body: Appetite and satiety control, production of neurotransmitters and other metabolites. Although there is still an ongoing debate about the concept of food addiction, studies agree that patients with food addiction behavior exhibit symptoms similar to those experienced by drug addicts, affecting central areas involved in the control of motivated behavior. Little work has been done to answer how the microbiota may influence behaviors associated with “food addiction.” Although research to date has not yet been completed, a growing body of evidence demonstrates how microbiota dysbiosis plays a role in the development of food addiction. Early-life influences may prime the infant's gut microbiota and brain for food addiction; this may be further reinforced by increased antibiotic use and dietary habits throughout adulthood. The ubiquity and marketing of cheap, highly palatable, and energy-dense foods may shift this balance toward hedonic eating through both central (perturbations in dopaminergic signaling) and gut-related mechanisms (vagal afferent function, metabolic endotoxemia, changes in gut microbiota). In recent studies, the relationship between food addiction and intestinal microbiota attracts attention. In this context, this review aims to examine the mechanisms between intestinal microbiota and food addiction.

Keywords

• Food addiction
• microbiota
• eating behaviour

Yeme Bağımlılığına Bağırsak Mikrobiyotası Üzerinden Bakış

Öz

Yeme davranışı, homeostatik ve hedonik düzenleyici mekanizmalar arasındaki denge ile karakterize edilir ve çevresel sinyallerden oldukça etkilenmektedir. Yeme davranışı genetik, yemeğin lezzeti ve çevre gibi içsel ve dışsal faktörlere bağlıdır. Bağırsak mikrobiyotası, konak fizyolojisine önemli bir çevresel katkıda bulunur ve beslenme davranışını etkiler. Ayrıca bağırsak mikrobiyotası vücutta çok sayıda işlevi yerine getirir: İştah ve tokluk kontrolü, nörotransmiter ve diğer metabolitlerin üretimi. Yeme bağımlılığı kavramı hakkında halen devam eden bir tartışma olmasına rağmen, çalışmalar yeme bağımlılığı davranışı olan hastaların, motive olmuş davranışın kontrolünde yer alan merkezi alanları etkileyerek, uyuşturucu bağımlılarının yaşadığı semptomlara benzer semptomlar gösterdiği konusunda hemfikirdir. Mikrobiyotanın “yeme bağımlılığı” ile ilişkili davranışları nasıl etkileyebileceğini yanıtlamak için az çalışma yapılmıştır. Bugüne kadar yapılan araştırmalar henüz tamamlanmamıştır ancak, artan sayıda kanıt mikrobiyota disbiyozunun yeme bağımlılığı gelişiminde nasıl rol oynadığını göstermektedir. Erken yaştaki etkiler, bebeğin bağırsak mikrobiyotasını ve beynini yeme bağımlılığı için hazırlayabilir; bu durum, yetişkinlik boyunca artan antibiyotik kullanımı ve beslenme alışkanlıklarıyla daha da güçlendirilebilir. Ucuz, oldukça lezzetli ve enerjisi yoğun yiyeceklerin her yerde bulunması ve pazarlanması, bu dengeyi hem merkezi (dopaminerjik sinyallemede bozulmalar) hem de bağırsaklarla ilgili mekanizmalar (vagal afferent fonksiyon, metabolik endotoksemi, bağırsak mikrobiyotasındaki değişiklikler) yoluyla hedonik yemeye doğru kaydırabilir. Son yıllarda yapılan çalışmalarda yeme bağımlığı ile bağırsak mikrobiyotası arasındaki ilişki dikkat çekmektedir. Bu derlemede, bağırsak mikrobiyotası ile yeme bağımlılığı arasındaki mekanizmaları incelemek amaçlanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yeme Bağımlılığı
• Mikrobiyota
• yeme davranışı

Kaynakça

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