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Effects of early under-nutrition on dietary self-selection and relative carbohydrate- and protein-conditioned
1Department of Child Health, University of Manchester, Medical School, U.K.
Insights
Early life undernutrition in rats led to a preference for carbohydrate-based odors in adulthood, despite no long-term changes in macronutrient self-selection. This suggests lasting impacts of early nutrition on food preferences.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Early life nutrition significantly influences long-term health and behavior.
- Undernutrition during critical developmental periods can have lasting physiological and behavioral consequences.
- Understanding the impact of early nutrition on food preferences is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of early life undernutrition on adult food preferences in rats.
- To determine if early nutritional deficits alter conditioned responses to macronutrient-associated odors.
- To assess the impact of early undernutrition on subsequent dietary self-selection patterns.
Main Methods:
- Rats were subjected to either early life undernutrition (birth to 45 days) followed by adequate nutrition, or were well-nourished throughout.
- Conditioned odor preferences were assessed by pairing distinct odors with carbohydrate or protein solutions during food deprivation.
- Macronutrient self-selection was evaluated over 8 days in adulthood.
Main Results:
- Previously undernourished rats (PU) exhibited a conditioned preference for the carbohydrate-paired odor.
- Control (C) rats showed a slight preference for the protein-paired odor.
- No significant differences in dietary self-selection patterns of macronutrients were observed between PU and C rats.
Conclusions:
- Early life undernutrition can induce lasting alterations in learned food preferences, specifically favoring carbohydrates.
- Despite altered odor preferences, early nutritional deficits did not impact adult macronutrient self-selection.
- These findings highlight the complex and persistent effects of early nutrition on sensory-driven food choices.
Abstract:
Rats were either under-nourished from birth to 45 days and thereafter well fed, or were well-nourished throughout. Such previously under-nourished rats (PU) had a body weight deficit in adulthood of about 15% when compared with the well-fed group (C). On four training days, rats were presented with a distinctively odourized solution of carbohydrate or protein, following a 5-h period of food deprivation. On the test day, under the same food deprivation conditions as occurred during training, identical solutions distinguished only by their odour were presented simultaneously to the rats for a period of 20 min. PU rats showed a conditioned preference for the carbohydrate-paired odour. Control animals showed a small preference for the protein-paired odour. The same rats were later allowed to self-select from three macronutrients for a period of 8 days. No differences in dietary self-selection patterns were found between PU and C rats.