Abstract
Summary
Two experiments were conducted to determine if and when hyper-phagia occurs in the genetically obese Zucker rat. In Experiment 1, lean and obese rats were offered food ad libitum from 7 to 19 weeks of age. Obese rats consumed significantly more total food than lean rats throughout the experiment. However, when food intake (FI) was expressed per unit of body weight (FI/BW) to compensate for the large differences in body weight between lean and obese rats, hyperphagia in the obese rats was only evident from 7 to 10 weeks of age. Thereafter, FI/BW became similar and at 19 weeks of age, FI/BW was significantly lower for obese rats compared to leans. Experiment 2 studied younger rats (3 to 11 weeks of age) and produced similar results. However, the increased FI/BW in obese rats was more pronounced at the early age and was evident from 3 to 7 weeks of age. It is concluded that obese rats were hyperphagic compared to lean rats, but only at an early age.
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