The water/food consumption relationships of severely underfed immature rats

To determine the water and food consumption relationships of immature rats during severe undernutrition, water and food consumption rates and ratios of 35 male albino rats underfed from birth and re-fed starting at 20, 30, 40 and 50 days of age (6 rats in each group) or not re-fed (11 rats) were estimated between the ages of 25 and 70 days and compared with those of 30 age-mate control rats. Severely underfed rats consumed water at rates near the maximum for their body size and out of proportion with the food consumed. The water/food consumption ratio (mean 2.09 +/- 0.07) was significantly higher than that of the control rats (mean 1.47 "0.01 (P less than 0.0012). During re-feeding, the food consumption rate increased more (62%) than the water consumption rate did (9%); and the water/food consumption ratio decreased to a level (1.40 +/- 0.04 not significantly different from that of the control rats. Thus, during periods of severe underfeeding and re-feeding, water and food consumption rates of immature rats may change fairly independently of each other, leading to variations in the water/food consumption relationships.