Pre‐pubertal pigs as a model for childhood obesity

Abstract

A translational animal model to study the complications resulting from childhood obesity is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to develop a porcine model for studying mechanisms underlying diet-induced childhood obesity. Pre-pubertal female pigs aged 5 wk were fed a high energy diet (HED, n=12), containing tallow and refined sugars, or a control corn-based diet (n=11). Pigs were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at wk 15. Initially, HED pigs self-regulated energy intake similar to control pigs but by wk 5, HED pigs consumed more (P<0.001) energy per kg BW than controls. Control pigs responded to an OGTT by lowering blood glucose to baseline values within 2 h of the challenge. HED pigs were hyperglycemic, and blood glucose never returned to baseline levels even after 4 h post-challenge. HED pigs also failed to mount an insulin response to elevated blood glucose. Chronic HED intake caused increased (P<0.05) subcutaneous, intramuscular, and intra-abdominal fat deposition, hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, and LDL hypercholesterolemia compared to those pigs fed control diets. These results show that chronic consumption of a HED disregulates energy intake, increases whole body adiposity, and alters blood metabolites in pre-pubertal pigs, and suggest pigs fed high energy diets are a viable translational animal model for studying childhood obesity and type II diabetes. Grant Funding Source: Fralin Life Science Institute