Sucrose exposure in early life alters adult motivation and weight gain.
The cause of the current increase in obesity in westernized nations is poorly understood but is frequently attributed to a 'thrifty genotype,' an evolutionary predisposition to store calories in times of plenty to protect against future scarcity. In modern, industrialized environments that provide a ready, uninterrupted supply of energy-rich foods at low cost, this genetic predisposition is hypothesized to lead to obesity. Children are also exposed to this 'obesogenic' environment; however, whether such early dietary experience has developmental effects and contributes to adult vulnerability to obesity is unknown. Using mice, we tested the hypothesis that dietary experience during childhood and adolescence affects adult obesity risk. We gave mice unlimited or no access to sucrose for a short period post-weaning and measured sucrose-seeking, food consumption, and weight gain in adulthood. Unlimited access to sucrose early in life reduced sucrose-seeking when work was required to obtain it. When high-sugar/high-fat dietary options were made freely-available, however, the sucrose-exposed mice gained more weight than mice without early sucrose exposure. These results suggest that early, unlimited exposure to sucrose reduces motivation to acquire sucrose but promotes weight gain in adulthood when the cost of acquiring palatable, energy dense foods is low. This study demonstrates that early post-weaning experience can modify the expression of a 'thrifty genotype' and alter an adult animal's response to its environment, a finding consistent with evidence of pre- and peri-natal programming of adult obesity risk by maternal nutritional status. Our findings suggest the window for developmental effects of diet may extend into childhood, an observation with potentially important implications for both research and public policy in addressing the rising incidence of obesity.
Frazier
Cristianne R M
CR
Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Mason
Peggy
P
Zhuang
Xiaoxi
X
Beeler
Jeff A
JA
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009042:Motivation; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism; D015430:Weight Gain
D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D013395:Sucrose; D005947:Glucose
Physiol Behav. 2007 Aug 15;91(5):486-98
17307205
Br Med Bull. 2001;60:5-20
11809615
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1993 Dec;46(4):943-51
8309975
Neuron. 2006 Sep 21;51(6):811-22
16982425
Diabetes Care. 2001 Jan;24(1):117-23
11194216
Am J Prev Med. 2002 Jan;22(1):23-9
11777675
Am J Prev Med. 2007 Oct;33(4 Suppl):S226-39
17884570
Science. 1998 May 29;280(5368):1371-4
9603719
Diabetologia. 1992 Jul;35(7):595-601
1644236
Psychol Rev. 1974 May;81(3):199-213
4424766
Matern Child Nutr. 2005 Jul;1(3):130-41
16881892
Adv Data. 2004 Oct 27;(347):1-17
15544194
Br J Nutr. 2004 Sep;92(3):513-20
15469656
J Physiol. 2005 May 15;565(Pt 1):3-8
15695245
Am J Prev Med. 2006 Apr;30(4):333-9
16530621
Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Oct;78(4):834S-842S
14522747
Am J Hum Genet. 1962 Dec;14:353-62
13937884
BMJ. 1997 Aug 23;315(7106):477-80
9284671
Public Health Nutr. 2007 Nov;10(11):1234-40
17381920
Physiol Behav. 2005 Dec 15;86(5):623-32
16263145
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2007 Dec;7(6):607-12
18037344
Pediatrics. 2007 Sep;120(3):576-83
17766531
J Nutr. 2006 Mar;136(3):582-7
16484528
FASEB J. 2006 Jun;20(8):1257-9
16684802
Science. 1979 Jul 20;205(4403):321-2
451607
JAMA. 2004 Jun 16;291(23):2847-50
15199035
Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 May;30(5):729-38
16404403
Epidemiol Rev. 2007;29:6-28
17510091
Proc Nutr Soc. 2004 Aug;63(3):405-12
15373950
PLoS One. 2007 Aug 01;2(8):e698
17668074
Epidemiol Rev. 2007;29:160-71
17591599
J Health Commun. 2006 Jun;11(4):409-23
16720538
Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):325-31
16380567
Am J Prev Med. 2007 Oct;33(4 Suppl):S178-86
17884566
Matern Child Nutr. 2005 Jul;1(3):142-8
16881893
Physiol Behav. 2005 Aug 7;85(5):546-56
15996693
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Oct;24(10):1310-8
11093293
Clin Sci (Lond). 2005 Oct;109(4):413-20
15992360
Trends Neurosci. 2003 Sep;26(9):507-13
12948663
Metabolism. 1995 May;44(5):645-51
7752914
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2007 May;10(3):336-41
17414504
Am J Physiol. 1992 Jun;262(6 Pt 2):R1025-32
1621856
Diabetes. 1988 Sep;37(9):1163-7
3044882
Appetite. 1990 Dec;15(3):189-97
2281949
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 1996 Sep;47(5):405-15
8889626
Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Apr 15;167(8):917-24
18304960
Nutr Rev. 1999 May;57(5 Pt 2):S2-9
10391020
Cent Eur J Public Health. 2006 Dec;14(4):151-9
17243492
Endocr Rev. 2006 Dec;27(7):750-61
17122359
Br J Nutr. 2000 Mar;83 Suppl 1:S17-20
10889787
Reproduction. 2006 Mar;131(3):415-27
16514185
Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Jan;75(1):11-20
11756055
Physiol Behav. 2007 Aug 15;91(5):473-8
17137609
Neuron. 2006 Sep 21;51(6):801-10
16982424
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Jun;292(6):E1702-14
17299084
J Public Health (Oxf). 2007 Jun;29(2):132-41
17442696