Experiences of discrimination are associated with adverse health outcomes, including obesity. This study investigated the impact of discrimination exposure on brain reactivity to food images and associated dysregulations in the brain–gut–microbiome system using multi-omics analyses of neuroimaging and fecal metabolites. Results show that discrimination is associated with increased food-cue reactivity in frontal–striatal regions (reward, motivation, executive control); altered glutamate-pathway metabolites (oxidative stress and inflammation); and preference for unhealthy foods. Associations between discrimination-related brain and gut signatures were skewed towards unhealthy sweet foods after adjusting for confounders. Discrimination may contribute to enhanced food-cue reactivity and brain–gut–microbiome disruptions, promoting unhealthy eating and increasing obesity risk.

Xiaobei Zhang, Hao Wang, Lisa A. Kilpatrick, Tien S. Dong, Gilbert C. Gee, Jennifer S. Labus, Vadim Osadchiy, Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, May C. Wang, Allison Vaughan, Arpana Gupta