Hyperphagia in rats produced by a mixture of fat and sugar

The hyperphagic and weight-promoting effects of feeding rats a sugar-fat mixture were compared to those of presenting only one of the two nutrients. Experimental groups were fed sugar (sucrose), fat (corn oil), or a sugar-fat mixture as an option to chow; options were in the form of water solutions or emulsions. The control group was fed only chow. The sugar-fat group displayed a robust hyperphagia (greater than 36%), relative to the control group; the hyperphagic response was greater than that observed in the fat group but not in the sugar group. The sugar-fat group selected more calories from the option than the other two experimental groups. Body weight gains were also greater in the sugar-fat group than in the fat and sugar groups. Addition of saccharin to the fat emulsion increased fat and total intakes to levels close to those of the sugar-fat mixture. In a second experiment, the relative palatability of the plain and sweet fat emulsions was assessed with two-bottle preference tests. The sugar-fat mixture was preferred to the saccharin-fat mixture, which in turn was preferred to the plain-fat emulsion. These results suggest that the sweetness of the sugar-fat mixture contributed to the pronounced hyperphagia and obesity obtained with this diet option.