Divergent Metabolic Effects of Acute Versus Chronic Repeated Forced Swim Stress in the Rat

Abstract

Objective This study sought to examine divergence regarding the impact of acute versus chronic repeated stress on energy balance. Methods Rats were exposed to either chronic repeated forced swim (FS) stress for 7 days or an acute stress (a single FS). Body weight and food intake were measured daily. Metabolic parameters explored included brown adipose tissue (BAT) weight and activity. Results Chronic repeated FS stress decreased body weight and caloric efficiency. It also increased the relative weight of BAT. The same stressor delivered only once did not alter adrenal or BAT weight, but it did increase the metabolic activity of BAT. In stress‐naive rats, acute FS stress induced an anorexigenic response during the first day after the stressor that caused a reduction in body weight (that persisted for 4 days). By contrast, the chronic FS rats did not show an anorexigenic response after the final stressor, and there was no change in body weight during the following 4 days. Conclusions Rats exposed to chronic repeated FS stress adapt to the stressor over time; they become less sensitive to its anorexigenic effects and its metabolic effects in BAT, adaptations that ultimately reduce sensitivity to the weight‐lowering effects of an acute stressor.

Effects of two different acute and subchronic stressors on gastrointestinal transit in the rat: A radiographic analysis

“…When the stressors were applied for 4 consecutive days, animals submitted to cold restraint tended to gain weight at a slower rate than the SFSS group, which is in line with previous studies, that show that weight gain is dependent on the frequency of stress application, without affecting it when FS or CR are applied acutely. [20][21][22][23] Thus, the conditions in which the stressors were applied in these experiments were mild and well tolerated by the animals.…”

Arginine vasopressin: Direct and indirect action on metabolism

“…It has long been known that stress and GCs regulate metabolic [ 178 , 179 ] immunological [ 180 ] and cognitive processes [ 181 , 182 ] throughout the body and brain. Of particular relevance to the subject of this review, are the vast number of stress and GC-dependent effects on metabolism and energy balance, reviewed in [ 183 , 184 ]. Notably, the GC hormone is in its active form [ 185 ] and can regulate vast metabolic transcriptional networks [ 186 ] throughout metabolically active organs, including liver, adipose, skeletal muscle and pancreas [ 178 ].…”

A China Healthy Diet Index-based evaluation of dietary quality among pregnant women in coastal areas across trimesters and residential areas

“…A cohort study from the FUDAN School of Public Health, which included 2634 participants, found that increased pregnancy-speci c stress in the middle and third trimesters may motivate pregnant women to follow a healthy balanced diet, and thus, equip them with more nutritional knowledge compared to novices in their rst trimester, which was thought as the weak association with poor birth outcomes in previous studies [24,25]. Compared to the chronic stress experienced during early pregnancy, the stress in the later trimesters is acute stress, characterized by increased blood sugar and poor appetite, which lure pregnant women to choose food that stimulates their appetite to meet their nutritional needs prior to labor [26,27]. Hence, it is important to strengthen diet-related health education for pregnant women during all trimesters, especially the rst one.…”