Feeding rate and meal patterns in the laboratory rat

Many manipulations used in the study of feeding (e.g., changes of food taste or texture, anorectic drugs) affect the rate of food consumption. Consequent changes in meal patterning might reflect either direct effects of the manipulation or alternatively might result from indirect effects of the changed rate of intake. In the experiment reported here a direct reduction in the permitted rate of food intake resulted in a clear reduction of meal size and an increase in meal frequency in rats. We explore the extent to which this finding is predicted by quantitative models of the regulation of food intake.