Continuous infusion of aldosterone: correlates of body weight gain

Aldosterone stimulated body weight gain in adrenalectomized male rats across all but the highest of seven doses delivered by continuous infusion. Gains were especially strong in the latter part of the 12-day infusion period peaking at values twice those of adrenalectomized rats given only glucocorticoid replacement or sham infusions. The gains were not related to skeletal growth, and hematocrit and percent tissue water were only modestly and inversely related to weight gain (rs = -.24). In contrast, epididymal fat pad mass correlated strongly (r = .72), indicating that the gains were partly or wholly attributal to adipose tissue hypertrophy.