Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2010) 21 P152

SFEBES2009 Poster Presentations Diabetes and metabolism (59 abstracts)

At high dietary fat levels, dietary fish–oil may enhance metabolic efficiency but may favour a reduction in the deposition of adipose tissue

Michelle Sleeth 1 , Emily Thompson 1 , Jelena Anastasovska 2 , Jimmy Bell 2 & Gary Frost 1


1Department of Investigative Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK; 2Metabolic and Molecular Imaging Group, Imaging Sciences Department, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, London, UK.


Background: Obesity is the excessive accumulation of adipose tissue to the extent that health may be impaired. Determination of the mechanisms governing adipose deposition and body weight regulation are now a scientific priority. High dietary fat intake is generally considered to be a factor in obesity’s multi-factorial aetiology and the metabolic syndrome. Yet not all dietary fats appear to be obese genic to the same degree.

Objective: To study the role of saturated (butter–milk) and polyunsaturated (fish–oil) dietary fats (DF) in the development of obesity.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomised (n=10 per group) to receive one of four experimental diets which contained either moderate amounts of DF (23% of dietary energy) as either butter–milk (23%B) or fish–oil (23%F), or high levels of DF (42% of dietary energy) as butter–milk (42%B) or fish–oil (42%F). Rats were given ad-libitum access to their respective diets for 84 days. Total body adiposity was measured in car casses by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

Results: At termination, there were no significant differences in the energy intake or body weight gain between the 23%F and 23%B groups. Whilst body weights were not significantly different between the 42%F and 42%B groups, there was a significant reduction in the cumulative energy intake in the 42%F group (P<0.01). Despite similar body weights, preliminary MRS analysis showed a trend towards reduced total adiposity in the rats fed the 42%F diet compared to the 42%B group.

Discussion: At high dietary fat levels, rats fed a fish–oil enriched diet appear to exhibit an enhanced metabolic efficiency; they consume less energy but have equal body weight gain to those animals consuming an isoenergetic saturated-fat diet. However, MRS analysis suggests any enhanced efficiency does not cause an increase in total adiposity; rather a leaner and therefore a more metabolically favourable phenotype may prevail.

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