The efficiency of food utilization, digestibility of foodstuffs and energy expenditure of mice selected for large or small body size

Abstract

The efficiency of food utilization, the digestibility of foodstuffs, energy metabolism, and body activity have been studied in three lines of mice, one selected for large, another for small body size, and a third, control, line.The gross efficiency of food utilization was highest in the large line, intermediate in the control line and lowest in the small line between 21 and approximately 35 days of age. During this period, gross efficiency declined in the large and control lines with increasing size and decreasing growth-rate, presumably due to an increase in maintenance costs in comparison with the weight gained. In the small line, the efficiency of food utilization increased up to 35 days of age but declined thereafter. The energetic efficiency (measured in Calories) was higher in the large than in the small line up to 4 weeks of age, i.e. when the growth-rate was high, and after 6 weeks of age, when fat was being deposited at an increased rate.The increased efficiency of large mice was not entirely associated with a greater proportion of the ingested food being absorbed from the gut. Large mice absorbed a greater proportion of protein, though the difference was not sufficient to account for the large weight difference between the large and small lines.The energy expenditure of mice of the large line was greater than that of the small line at all ages and similar for the same body weights. The reduced growth-rate of small mice was not due to abnormally high or low energy costs. There was no evidence that body activity determined or restricted the rate of growth in either line.Mice selected for small size were phenotypically unlike pituitary dwarf mice, although the low nitrogen retention during the growing-period indicated a deficiency of some growth stimulus.