It has been shown in numerous experiments that rats trained to consume their food in a short daily period (meal-eaters) are more efficient in converting food energy to body energy than animals allowed diet ad libitum (nibbler). If the meal-eater is force-fed a quantity of food equal to that consumed by the nibbler, the meal-eater will accumulate more body fat than the nibbler (1-3). If the meal-eater is allowed food for only 2 hr per day, it will consume about 20% less food than the nibbler but will grow at the same rate as the nibbler (4). The reason(s) for the increased energy efficiency observed in meal-fed rats have not been elucidated.It has been suggested that obese humans may have an increased efficiency for converting dietary energy to body energy. Fabry et al. ( 5 ,6) reported that there was an inverse relationship between the number of meals ingested daily and the degree of overweight in 400 adult males. Others (7-lo), however, have failed to observe an effect of meal frequency on body weight changes in humans.Muiruri and Leveille (11) examined the effect of converting rats from meal-eating to nibbling. It was apparent that the previous feeding pattern influenced lipogenic capacity and body weight changes. Rats converted from meal-eating to nibbling gained weight faster and accumulated body fat faster than did control nibbling rats. They also noted that lipogenic enzyme ac-'Supported by AM 15847 from NIH. Journal Article Number 7093, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
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