title: Effect of feeding a high-fat diet independently of caloric intake on reproductive function in diet-induced obese female rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Globally, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing, predisposing females to health hazards including compromised reproductive capacity. Our objective was to investigate the effect of ad libitum, isocalorically and hypocalorically restricted high-fat diet (HFD) feeding on reproductive function in diet-induced obese female rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty female albino Sprague Dawley rats were used; 5 rats were kept on a standard pellet animal diet to serve as a control group (A) and 15 rats were fed a HFD for 9 weeks to induce obesity. The HFD fed animals were equally divided into three groups: an ad libitum HFD group (B), an isocalorically restricted HFD group (C), and a hypocalorically restricted HFD group (D). Estrous cyclicity, hormonal levels, ovarian histopathology and caspase-3 immunoreactivity were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HFD-fed rats in groups B, C and D had significant irregularity in estrous cyclicity Vs group A (p = 0.001, 0.003 and 0.034 respectively). Groups C and D had significant reduction in serum progesterone level (p = 0.006 and 0.018 Vs A). Isocaloric restriction of HFD feeding significantly increased serum LH. Groups B and C had a significant increase in caspase-3 expression in the ovary (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ad libitum HFD interfered with the normal estrous cycle and enhanced apoptosis of luteal cells in obese female rats. The HFD restriction interfered with the normal estrous cycle and caused functional insufficiency of the corpus luteum in obese female rats. These results suggest that HFD feeding determinately affects female reproductive function independently of caloric intake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mona A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Noha M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Abogresha
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ranya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Home Economics, Faculty of Education, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Dalia A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Tamany
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lotfy
keywords: calorie restriction; fat; female reproduction; obesity