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.