Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Rats on a free-choice (fc) diet of saturated fat and liquid sugar in addition to chow (fcHFHS) overeat persistently, and show increased hypothalamic neuropeptide Y and decreased melanocortin signaling, which reflects a hunger state despite hyperphagia. This response is specific for a fcHFHS diet, because when given the choice between fat and chow (fcHF) or between liquid sugar and chow (fcHS) hyperphagia is not observed. Because leptin signaling is important for th...