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Influence of Diet on Growth in the Rat

Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

Twenty-eight-day old male Sprague Dawley rats were fed, either ad libitum or in restricted amounts, isoenergetic diets containing 2%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, or 50% lactalbumin protein and 5%, 11.9%, or 21.1% fat for 8 weeks and were then killed. Weekly food consumption and body weight, terminal weight, body water and lipid, and liver weight, DNA, RNA, protein, and lipid were measured. The growth rate increased progressively with each increase in the level of dietary protein up to 25% protein and then declined. Growth was also accelerated by a high fat diet but was retarded by restriction of energy intake. Total body lipid correlated directly with the level of fat in the diet. Multiple regression analysis of the type: Y = ß₀ + ß₁X₁ + ß₂X₂ + ß₃X₃ + ß₄X₄ where Y = rate of weight gain, X₁ = dietary protein level, X₂ = protein efficiency ratio, X₃ = appetite factor, and X₄ = energy/protein ratio, showed that the maximum rate of weight gain of 58.8 g/week occurred when the diet contained 23% protein. Growth rate declined when the diet contained a higher protein level.

KEY WORDS: • protein • dietary fat • food restriction • maximum growth rate

Manuscript received 6 May 1977.

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				P Donald, C. Pitts, and S. Pohl Body weight and composition in laboratory rats: effects of diets with high or low protein concentrations Science, January 9, 1981; 211(4478): 185 - 186. [Abstract] [PDF]