AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 3 212-R215, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Dietary-induced severe obesity: a rat model
L. B. Oscai
In this study, dietary intervention before and after weaning was used to
produce body fatness in adult rats ranging from severe obesity (61% body
fat) to the lean condition (18% body fat). To produce severe obesity, rats
were programmed for a high caloric intake during suckling. After weaning,
they were provided unrestricted access to a diet in which approximately 40%
of the calories were derived from fat (high-fat diet). The high-fat diet
appeared to cause hyperphagia such that appetites were highly stimulated
between 29 and 58 wk of age. Body weight in these rats stabilized at 1,213
+/- 62 g. Severe obesity was also observed in rats programmed for a low
caloric intake if, after weaning, they ate the high-fat diet (59% body
fat). These results provide evidence that the fat content of the diet may
play a regulatory role in the development of severe obesity.
