Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Explained by the Free Energy Principle

Abstract

According to the free energy principle, all sentient beings strive to minimize surprise or, in other words, an information-theoretical quantity called variational free energy. Consequently, psychosocial “stress” can be redefined as a state of “heightened expected free energy,” that is, a state of “expected surprise” or “uncertainty.” Individuals experiencing stress primarily attempt to reduce uncertainty, or expected free energy, with the help of what is called an uncertainty resolution program (URP). The URP consists of three subroutines: First, an arousal state is induced that increases cerebral information transmission and processing to reduce uncertainty as quickly as possible. Second, these additional computations cost the brain additional energy, which it demands from the body. Third, the program controls which stress reduction measures are learned for future use and which are not. We refer to an episode as “good” stress, when the URP has successfully reduced uncertainty. Failure of the URP to adequately reduce uncertainty results in either stress habituation or prolonged toxic stress. Stress habituation reduces uncertainty by flattening/broadening individual goal beliefs so that outcomes previously considered as untenable become acceptable. Habituated individuals experience so-called “tolerable” stress. Referring to the Selfish Brain theory and the experimental evidence supporting it, we show that habituated people, who lack stress arousals and therefore have decreased average brain energy consumption, tend to develop an obese type 2 diabetes mellitus phenotype. People, for whom habituation is not the free-energy-optimal solution, do not reduce their uncertainty by changing their goal preferences, and are left with nothing but “toxic” stress. Toxic stress leads to recurrent or persistent arousal states and thus increased average brain energy consumption, which in turn promotes the development of a lean type 2 diabetes mellitus phenotype. In conclusion, we anchor the psychosomatic concept of stress in the information-theoretical concept of uncertainty as defined by the free energy principle. In addition, we detail the neurobiological mechanisms underlying uncertainty reduction and illustrate how uncertainty can lead to psychosomatic illness.