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Macronutrient Selection in Rats: Effect of Fat Type and Level¹

Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602

The effect of type and level of dietary fat on subsequent diet selection was examined in young Sprague-Dawley rats. Isoenergetic, isonitrogenous diets composed of corn oil or tallow (commercial grade), each at 5 or 34%, were fed to rats for 2 wk, and their preference for diets covarying in carbohydrate and protein was subsequently tested. When compared to either of the corn oil groups or the 5% tallow group, rats previously fed the high tallow diet selected more protein and less carbohydrate. Subsequent experiments testing the effects of 5, 20 or 34% tallow indicated that this preference for protein was induced by exposure to the tallow diets for only 18 h. In addition, the 34% tallow group selected more protein than did rats fed 5 or 20% tallow. Tests of diet selection with 5 or 34% corn oil, tallow or hydrogenated coconut oil indicated that rats fed 34% tallow ate significantly more protein than the 34% corn oil group. Furthermore, animals fed a 34% pure, additive-free tallow diet exhibited a preference for protein. These studies suggest that the type and level of dietary fat interact to influence dietary selection.

KEY WORDS: • diet selection • dietary fat • tallow • rats

¹ Some of these data were presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 20, 1989 [MULLEN, B. J. & MARTIN, R. J. (1989) Macronutrient selection in rats: effect of previous type and level of dietary fat. FASEB J. 3: A337 (abs.)].

Manuscript received 8 January 1990. Revision accepted 29 May 1990.