AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 255, Issue 4 616-R621, Copyright © 1988 by American Physiological Society
Effects of meal frequency on energy utilization in rats
J. O. Hill, J. C. Anderson, D. Lin and F. Yakubu
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232.
The effects of differences in meal frequency on body weight, body
composition, and energy expenditure were studied in mildly food-restricted
male rats. Two groups were fed approximately 80% of usual food intake (as
periodically determined in a group of ad libitum fed controls) for 131
days. One group received all of its food in 2 meals/day and the other
received all of its food in 10-12 meals/day. The two groups did not differ
in food intake, body weight, body composition, food efficiency (carcass
energy gain per amount of food eaten), or energy expenditure at any time
during the study. Both food-restricted groups had a lower food intake, body
weight gain, and energy expenditure than a group of ad libitum-fed
controls. In conclusion, these results suggest that amount of food eaten,
but not the pattern with which it is ingested, has a major influence on
energy balance during mild food restriction.
