Return to search

A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF SUGAR DRINKING IN THE RAT (MEAL-PATTERNS, FOOD-INTAKE, TASTE)

Three groups of laboratory rats were presented with water, laboratory chow, and a sugar solution for 23 hours and their eating and drinking patterns were quantified. Each group received either a glucose, fructose or maltose solution. The concentration of the sugar solution was systematically increased (4%, 8%, 16%, 32%) with a single concentration being presented to rats in four day blocks. For all three sugars, total intake (ml) of sugar solution increased with concentration, reaching a peak at 8% and then decreased with further rises in concentration. Calories consumed from sugar monotonically increased with concentration, reaching an asymptote at 8% for both glucose and maltose and at 16% for fructose. As calories consumed from sugar increased with rising concentration, chow intake decreased. The decrease in chow intake was due primarily to a reduction in feeding bout frequency. As the concentration of sugar increased, the day to night ratio of sugar intake approached unity. This was attributed to an increase in the incentive value of the sugar solution, provoking ingestion during the daytime, with postingestional inhibition limiting nighttime intake. Fluid bout volume increased with sugar concentration up to 8% and then either remained the same or dropped when the concentration was raised from 8% to 16% depending on the sugar. All groups decreased their fluid bout volume when the concentration was raised from 16% to 32%. These data suggest that caloric density is an important factor in the limitation of bout volume. Since caloric intake within a sugar drinking bout progressively increased with each rise in sugar concentration, the asymptotic portion of the curve describing calories consumed from sugar was attributable to alterations of drinking bout frequency and not drinking bout size. This finding also suggests that caloric load is not the sole factor / responsible for the limitation of bout volume. Bout drinking rate (ml/min) monotonically increased with concentration reaching an asymptote at 8% for glucose and at 16% for fructose and maltose. This finding supports the claim that the incentive value of sugar solutions does not decrease with high sugar concentrations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-08, Section: B, page: 2730. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75367
ContributorsSPECTOR, ALAN CRAIG., Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
Format114 p.
RightsOn campus use only.
RelationDissertation Abstracts International

Page generated in 0.0177 seconds