Effect of Dietary Level of Fat and Type of Carbohydrate on Growth and Food Intake

Abstract

The Caloric intake and the rate of gain of rats fed for 2 weeks on diets containing 35 mg of protein per Calorie increased when part of the dietary sucrose was replaced by fat, but there were no significant differences among the values for gain per Calorie with different dietary fats. The Calorie intake and the rate of gain of rats fed on low-fat diets also increased when dietary sucrose or cerelose were replaced by dextrin. Dextrin was without effect when the diets contained 30% of fat. The amount of water in the stomach contents of rats fed, in a single meal, 5 gm of a diet low in fat and containing sucrose was high and remained high for several hours thereafter. If a substantial part of the sugar in these diets was replaced by fat the moisture content fell quite rapidly after 1.5 hours. When dietary sucrose or cerelose was replaced by dextrin less water accumulated initially in the stomach and there was little effect of an increased level of fat. It is suggested that, when a substantial part of a low molecular weight carbohydrate in a diet is replaced by fat or dextrin, the osmotic effect of the diet is reduced sufficiently to permit young rats to consume a greater quantity of the diet and, hence, gain weight more rapidly during the early stages of growth.