The Effect of a High-Fat Diet and Exercise on the Expression of Genetic Obesity

Abstract

In the United States, there are 300,000 obesity-related premature deaths each year. Furthermore, no current obesity treatment program results in consistent weight reductions. Obesity is thought to be caused by complex genetic-environmental interactions. We studied the effect of two environmental factors, high-fat diet and non-weight-bearing exercise, on obesity expression. Young adult, female, genetically obese (fa/fa) rats (n = 52) and their lean (Fa/fa) littermates (n = 24) were studied using an experimental 2×2×2 factorial design (diet type, genetics, and exercise). Repeated measures ANOVA and secondarily stepwise regressions were used to analyze the data. The authors discovered that the effect of appetite on obesity expression is more limited than expected, and there may be critical stages when obesity expression is amenable to environmental modification.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bluchard, C. , & Perusse, L. (1993). Genetics of obesity. Annual Review of Nutrition, 13, 337-354.

Castelli, W. P. (1988). Cardiovascular disease in women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 158, 1553-1560.

Drewnowski, A. (1997). Why do we like fat? Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97(Suppl. 7), S58-S62.

Durrant, M. L. , Royston, J. P. , & Wloch, R. T. (1982). Effect of exercise on energy intake and eating patterns in lean and obese humans. Physiology & Behavior, 29, 449-454.

Grundy, S. (1998). Multifactorial causation of obesity: Implications for intervention. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(Suppl.), 563S-572S.

Hall, C. B. , Lukaski, H. C. , & Marchello, M. J. (1989). Estimation of rat body composition using tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analysis. Nutritional Reports International, 39, 627-633.

Hanson, R. L. , Pettitt, D. J. , Bennett, P. H. , Narayan, K. M. , Fernandes, R. , de Courten, M. , & Knowler, W. C. (1995). Familial relationships between obesity and NIDDM. Diabetes, 44, 418-422.

Hill, J. , & Peters, J. (1998). Environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic. Science, 280(5368), 1371-1374.

National Institute of Health , National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute . (1998). Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: The Evidence Report (NIH Publication No. 98, 4083). Bethesda, MD. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

10.

Pratley, R. E. (1998). Gene-environment interactions in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Lessons learned from the Pima Indians. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 57, 175-181.

11.

Vasselli, J. R. , & Maggio, C. A. (1997). Mechanisms of appetite and body weight regulation. In S. Dalton (Ed.), Overweight and weight management (pp. 187-208). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.

12.

West, D. B. , & York, B. (1998). Dietary fat, genetic predisposition, and obesity: Lessons from animal models. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(Suppl.), 505S-512S.

13.

Willett, W. C. (1998). Is dietary fat a major determinant of body fat? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(Suppl.), 556S-562S.

14.

Woo, R. (1985). The effect of increasing physical activity on voluntary food intake and energy balance. International Journal of Obesity, 9(Suppl. 2), 155-160.

15.

Woo, R. , & Pi-Sunyer, F. X. (1985). Effect of increased physical activity on voluntary intake in lean women. Metabolism, 34, 836-841.