High-fat diet preference and overeating mediated by postingestive factors in rats

The role of postingestive factors in the preference for and overconsumption of high-fat (HF) foods, relative to high-carbohydrate (HC) foods, was investigated using a self-regulated intragastric feeding procedure. On one-bottle training days, rats drank one flavored saccharin solution [conditioned stimulus (CS) + HF] paired with intragastric infusions of an HF liquid diet, a second flavored solution (CS+HC) paired with an HC liquid diet, and a third flavored solution (CS-) paired with intragastric water. The diets had the same energy and protein content; the CS solutions and infusions along with chow were available ad libitum. The rats drank more CS and self-infused more diet on HF than HC training days. In two-bottle choice tests, the rats preferred the CS+HF to the CS+HC and both CS+HF and CS+HC to the CS-. The rats consumed more CS+HF than CS+HC by taking more bouts per day; bout sizes did not reliably differ. In a subsequent experiment, rats preferred the CS+HF even though diet intakes in training were matched. In a final experiment, the CS+HC and CS+HF intakes were equated in training by diluting the HC diet. Now the rats did not reliably prefer the CS+HF to the CS+HC, yet caloric intakes were much higher on CS+HF than CS+HC training days. Thus, relative to an isocaloric HC diet, the postingestive effects of HF diets stimulate overeating and condition a stronger flavor preference. Reduced satiety rather than increased reinforcement may be the direct promoter of overeating. However, postingestive reinforcement may enhance the selection of HF foods when a choice of HF and HC foods is available.