Sex dependent effects of physical activity on diet preference in rats selectively bred for high or low levels of voluntary wheel running

Nov 6, 2018Behavioural brain research

How exercise affects food choices differently in male and female rats bred for high or low running activity

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Abstract

Intake patterns of diets were uniquely influenced by physical activity, depending on both sex and selectively bred line of rat.

Male and female Wistar rats exhibited different diet preferences based on their levels of physical activity.
Rats selectively bred for high voluntary running distances (HVR) and low distances (LVR) showed varying responses to diet choice.
Both body weight and diet intake were monitored daily over a 4-week period under sedentary and active conditions.
MRNA expression related to reward in the ventral striatum was also influenced by sex and breeding line.
Voluntary wheel running behavior may play a significant role in mediating palatable diet consumption in a sex-dependent manner.

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Considering the current obesity epidemic is due in large part to an energy imbalance, it is crucial to explore biological mechanisms that mediate palatable high energy food intake and physical activity behavior levels. Previous research demonstrates a unique sex dependent influence of physical activity on diet preference, specifically changes in palatable high-fat diet intake. Therefore, factors of motivation may be underlying the differential effect of physical activity in male and female rats on their diet preference. The present study extends this hypothesis by assessing diet preference in male and female Wistar rats selectively bred for high (HVR) and low (LVR) levels of voluntary wheel running distances. HVR and LVR rats were housed under either sedentary (SED) or voluntary wheel running access (RUN) conditions for the duration of the study. Following a 1 week acclimation period to these conditions, standard chow was replaced with concurrent ad libitum access to a choice of 3 pelleted diets (high-fat, high-sucrose, and high-corn starch); all 3 were provided in the home cage. Body weight, running distance, and intake of each diet was measured daily. At the conclusion of the 4 week diet preference test, animals were sacrificed and ventral striatum tissue was collected for later analysis. Results demonstrated intake patterns of diets were uniquely influenced by physical activity dependent on both the sex and the selectively bred line of rat. In addition, reward related ventral striatal mRNA expression was also dependent on both the sex and the selectively bred line of rat. Overall, the pattern of both behavioral and mRNA results suggest that voluntary wheel running behavior differentially mediates palatable diet consumption in males and females. Considering the pervasive abundance of both physical inactivity, combined with over-consumption of energy dense palatable diets, it is vital to understand the nature of these behavioral interactions.

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Sex dependent effects of physical activity on diet preference in rats selectively bred for high or low levels of voluntary wheel running

Abstract

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