Fat Preference: A Novel Model of Eating Behavior in Rats

Summary

Dietary fat content influences both energy intake and body fat composition in mammals. By examining rats’ preference for high fat food in a series of choice experiments, it is possible to test genetic differences and pharmacological interventions on their preference for high fat food.

Abstract

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States of America, with more than a third of the population classified as obese. One factor contributing to this multifactorial disorder is the consumption of a high fat diet, a behavior that has been shown to increase both caloric intake and body fat content. However, the elements regulating preference for high fat food over other foods remain understudied.

To overcome this deficit, a model to quickly and easily test changes in the preference for dietary fat was developed. The Fat Preference model presents rats with a series of choices between foods with differing fat content. Like humans, rats have a natural bias toward consuming high fat food, making the rat model ideal for translational studies. Changes in preference can be ascribed to the effect of either genetic differences or pharmacological interventions. This model allows for the exploration of determinates of fat preference and screening pharmacotherapeutic agents that influence acquisition of obesity.

Introduction

Obesity is a prevalent problem in the United States¹, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that over a third of American adults are obese. Obesity has also been identified as a risk factor for numerous health concerns, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol². While many factors have been shown to influence the increase in obesity rates, there is ongoing interest and controversy in the role macronutrients play in obesity^3,4.

One contributing factor to obesity is high dietary fat intake⁵. Increased dietary fat is correlated with increased human....

Protocol

All experimental procedures are in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources (U.S.), 1996) and with the approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

1. Subjects

1. Single house male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 225-250 g at 21 °C and 30-50% relative humidity with a 12 hr light-dark cycle (lights on 6:00 am-6:00 pm).
2. Maintain rats on a low fat food (10% fat by energy). Habituate rats to food and colony room for at least 7 days prior to experimentation. Animals are habituated to handling and do....

Results

Rats had physical access to both food hoppers simultaneously (Figure 1) in order to demonstrate preference for available food choices with differing fat content (Table 1). Rat food was weighed daily and any food spillage was easily found and accounted for (Figure 2). Spillage of fine food particles was found to be minimal and does not substantially influence the data. Using the Fat Preference model, a clear preference between foods containing 12.5% fat and higher fat foo.......

Discussion

The Fat Preference model is an informative and easy to perform assay of feeding behavior. This assay offers an opportunity to identify neural and molecular mechanisms which underlie food preference, which is an important yet understudied area of obesity research. Changes in fat preference from genetic differences or pharmacological manipulations could be visualized as rightward or leftward shifts in the preference curve (Figure 3B). It is important to include the middle fat foods (15%, 17.5%, and 20%) to.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Rodent diet with 10 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D12450B	10% fat rat food
Rodent diet with 12.5 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D07040501	12.5% fat rat food
Rodent diet with 15 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D07040502	15% fat rat food
Rodent diet with 17.5 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D07040503	17.5% fat rat food
Rodent diet with 20 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D07040504	20% fat rat food
Rodent diet with 45 kcal% fat	Research Diets	D12451	45% fat rat food
Rat feeders (3.75"W x 2.875"D x 5.25"H)	Labex of MA	2528	Food hoppers