High‐fat diet feeding alters olfactory‐, social‐, and reward‐related behaviors of mice independent of obesity

Objective High‐fat diet (HFD) consumption causes obesity, which is associated with well‐known increased health risks. Moreover, obesity has been associated with altered sensorimotor and emotional behaviors of humans and mice. This study attempted to dissociate the influence of HFD‐induced obesity on behaviors from the influence of HFD consumption itself. Methods C57BL male mice were randomly allocated to a low‐fat diet (LFD) group, an HFD‐induced obesity (DIO) group, or a pair‐fed HFD‐feeding nonobese (HFD) group. A comprehensive behavioral test battery was performed on all three groups to assess sensorimotor functions, anxiety‐ and depression‐like behaviors, reward‐related behaviors, social behaviors, and learning/memory functions. Results Both the DIO and HFD groups exhibited disturbed olfaction, blunted ethanol preference, and enhanced social interactions. The DIO group exhibited blunted sucrose preference, shorter latency before falling off during the rotarod test, and a lower response to mechanical stimuli. Conclusions The HFD‐fed nonobese mice showed altered behaviors related to olfaction, social interactions, and rewards that were similar to those of the DIO mice. This finding suggests that HFD consumption alters a variety of behaviors independent of obesity.