title: Relationship of dietary fat content to food preferences in young rats.
abstract: Weanling rats were fed either a high-fat (30% of calories) or a low-fat (10% of calories) diet for four weeks, after which fat preference was assessed using a choice paradigm. Fat preference was measured during 2-hour intake tests in which three peanut butter/peanut oil mixtures containing 0.50, 0.61, and 0.71 grams fat/gram were offered to each animal. Rats fed the high-fat (HF) diet preferred the highest-fat mixture and consumed more total fat during intake tests than animals fed the low-fat (LF) diet. Intake of NaCl and sucrose solutions was measured during separate intake tests. LF-fed rats drank more NaCl solution than HF-fed rats. Following these tests a subgroup of the LF-fed animals was fed the HF diet, and a subgroup of the HF-fed group was fed the LF diet for a further four weeks. Upon repetition of the intake tests, rats that had been fed the HF diet during the initial four weeks still preferred the highest-fat mixture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706.
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Warwick
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Schiffman
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose