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Review
. 2025 Jul 24;13(7):e70689.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.70689. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Gut-Brain Axis in Obesity: How Dietary Patterns Influence Psychological Well-Being and Metabolic Health?

Faiyaz Ahmed  1 , Muhammad Tayyab Arshad  2   3 , Sammra Maqsood  4 , Ali Ikram  3 , Kodjo Théodore Gnedeka  5
Affiliations
Review

Gut-Brain Axis in Obesity: How Dietary Patterns Influence Psychological Well-Being and Metabolic Health?

Faiyaz Ahmed et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

Combining nutritional, microbial, and psychological factors, the gut-brain axis plays a pivotal role in obesity. In distinction to Western diets which are heavy in processed foods and disturb gut microbiota leading to inflammation and metabolic dysfunction while Mediterranean diets which are rich in fiber and probiotics improve microbial diversity and psychological health. Emotional consumption, aggravated by psychological states such as sadness and stress, is a prominent driver of the obesity epidemic. Nutritional interventions such as prebiotics and fiber are needed to restore metabolic and emotional balance since dysbiosis in the gut has been linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Recent findings demonstrate that treatment could be optimized through tailored dietary intervention depending on microbial patterns. One potential all-encompassing strategy for the treatment of obesity is an integrative strategy that combines dietary modification with psychological counseling and pharmacologic therapies. Diet, gut and mental health are inversely correlated with each other, and this review summarizes the current evidence on the gut-brain axis in obesity. To treat the multi-factorial etiology of obesity, future research should explore drugs that act on the microbiome as well as multi-disciplinary strategies.

Keywords: gut microbiota; insulin resistance; obesity; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Western diets versus Mediterranean diets on gut health.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Psychological factors in obesity.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Stress, anxiety, depression and their impact on dietary choices.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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