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The Influence of Dietary Fat and Carbohydrate on Reproduction and Lactation in Rats¹

Department of Animal Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State College, State College

Reproduction and lactation performance was measured for three generations with albino rats fed diets ad libitum composed essentially of natural foods and varying in fat and carbohydrate content.

With an average number of 78 matings for each diet, a significant decrease in reproductive performance of rats receiving the 23% fat diet was observed when compared to the control (4.4% fat) and the high-carbohydrate-fed (3.4%) animals. This was manifest in smaller numbers of lighter weight young in the litters of the high-fat group.

Lactation performance, measured with an average number of 350 nursing young for each diet, revealed no impairment due to the high-fat diet as compared to the control diet. However, a significant improvement in lactation resulted from the high-carbohydrate diet which contained sucrose. Weanling weights and weight gains of the young during the critical lactation period were increased 7 to 10% in this group.

Manuscript received 1 April 1952.