Diet texture, moisture and starch type in dietary obesity.
A series of experiments demonstrated that the texture of a diet has less effect on growth than does the water content. Rats fed diets containing 50-71% water become obese. On the other hand, diets containing as little as 30% or as much as 75% water failed to increase growth. Varying the concentration of the suspending agent (xanthan gum) from 0.5% to 2% greatly altered the viscosity of liquid diets but had no reliable effect on growth. Diets containing gelatinized starch became semi-solid when water was added but the rats still grew faster when fed the moist rather than the dry gelatinized starch diets. However, feeding a diet containing a very high level of gelatinized starch reduced growth independently of the moisture content. Rats fed a dry powdered diet gained weight at about the same rate as rats fed a pelleted diet. These results indicate that the moisture content of a diet has a major influence on its ability to induce obesity. The type of starch fed to the rats also seems to be an important determinant of growth rate.
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
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Ramirez
D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D051381:Rats; D013213:Starch / Q000009:adverse effects; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D014867:Water; D013213:Starch