Body composition of light and heavy rats in a high or low fat diet group

Abstract

The authors studied the body composition of light and heavy male Wistar rats (approximately 11 and 21 weeks of age) from two diet groups fed a high-fat (HFD, 50 per cent (w/w) fat) and a low-fat diet (LFD, 3 per cent (w/w) fat), respectively. In both age-groups the heavy HFD rats showed a considerably higher fat proportion (as compared with light LFD rats) associated with a correspondingly reduced body water content and an approximately identical body protein concentration. On comparing light and heavy rats (11 and 21 weeks of age) from the same diet group as to their body composition, the authors found greater differences only in the 21-week-old HFD animals; as against light animals, the heavy animals exhibited a highly significant increase in body fat content and a highly significant decrease in body water content. A comparison of LFD and HFD animals of approximately the same weight revealed an increase of the relative body fat content and a decrease of the percentage of body water content in light 11-week-old and also in 21-week-old HFD animals as against heavy LFD animals.