Researchers at University College Cork explored how diet, exercise, and mental health are connected, showing how these lifestyle factors affect brain function at a cellular level. This study, published in Brain Medicine, challenges current views by revealing that exercise can have antidepressant-like effects even when diet is poor. In an era of widespread ultra-processed food consumption, this study provides insights into how lifestyle interventions might be optimized to support brain health.
Over the course of two months, researchers fed adult male rats either standard food or a rotating "cafeteria diet" consisting of various high-fat and high-sugar foods, with half of each dietary group also having access to running wheels. They then used comprehensive behavioral testing to assess multiple domains of the rats' brain function. While the cafeteria diet did not significantly impair spatial learning or recognition memory, they found that exercise produced improvements in spatial navigation. The researchers also examined anxiety-like behaviors and mood regulation. They found that exercise produced an anti-anxiety effect independent of diet and an antidepressant-like behavioral effect in the rats fed the cafeteria diet. The researchers state, "This is not a trivial observation. The brain remains responsive to behavioral interventions that we can provide to almost anyone at almost any time, even under adverse dietary conditions."
The researchers also found that when the rats exercised, the cafeteria diet prevented the expected increase in the formation of new neurons (neurogenesis) in the hippocampus, the brain region involved in emotion and memory. In contrast, the rats on the standard diet showed increased neurogenesis after exercise, indicating diet quality can affect the brain's ability to benefit from exercise at the cellular level.
StepUp Note
All of us – children, parents and teachers – understand that health improves energy, effort and attention to learning. And we know that diet can negatively affect a child’s responses to their learning environment. This research shows, in a study with rats, how exercise can modify or reduce the negative effects of diet on learning. StepUp to Learn provides students with a daily dose of “exercise” that helps them get their bodies moving. Teachers tell us that daily StepUp exercises enhance their students' learning readiness throughout the school day!
Note by Nancy W Rowe, MS, CCC/A