Chronic Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption Inhibited the Growth of Mice But Elicited No Impact on Depression and Anxiety-Like Behaviors

Background: Chronic sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption is known to be correlated with a terrific incidence of non-communicable diseases, like adiposity and obesity. However, the influences of chronic SSBs consumption on psychosocial behavioral changes remain ambiguous. Objective: The current study investigated the effects of chronic SSBs consumption and treadmill exercise on depression and anxiety-like behaviors, learning and memory of mice; and explored the plausible molecular mechanisms of chronic SSBs consumption on the abnormal behaviors. Methods: Four-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups and were administered to plain water or Coca Cola. After two weeks of adaptation, mice were subjected to SSBs and treadmill exercise for 12 weeks. Forced swim test (FST), Open field test (OFT), and Morris water maze (MWM) were carried out to assess the depression and anxiety-like behaviors, learning and memory of mice. Real-time PCR was used to determine the mRNA levels of MAO-A, COMT, and 5-HT1A in the hypothalamus. Fluorescent immuno-histochemistry was used to investigate the density of NeuN. Western blotting was used to examine the protein levels of synapsin, STAT3, A2AR, CRTC1, CREB, and BDNF in the hippocampus. Results: Chronic SSBs consumption significantly decreased the body weight (p 0.05) and the OFT (p > 0.05). No significant differences were found during the acquisition test (p > 0.05) and the probe test (p > 0.05) after chronic SSBs consumption. In the acquisition test, treadmill exercise increased the percentage of time in the target quadrant on day 5 compared to day 1 of the mice with SSBs consumption (p 0.05) and 5-HT1A (p > 0.05); treadmill exercise produced no impact on the mRNA levels of COMT (p > 0.05), MAO-A (p> 0.05) and 5-HT1A (p > 0.05). However, treadmill exercise increased the fluorescence intensity of NeuN (p 0.05) and STAT3 (p > 0.05) were found among the four groups. No significant differences were found of the protein levels of A2AR (p > 0.05), CRTC1 (p > 0.05), CREB (p > 0.05) and BDNF (p > 0.05) after chronic SSBs exposure. Conclusions: Unlike human epidemiological findings and previous animal studies, the present study revealed that chronic SSBs consumption inhibited the growth of mice but resulted in no psychosocial abnormalities, learning and memory impairments. Consequently, SSBs reduction strategies may be useful in promoting the growth and development of children and adolescents. Regular physical activity as a beneficial lifestyle is more likely to provide protective effects on youth’s health, especially with SSBs indulgence.