2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Influence of eating patterns on energy metabolism and visceral fat deposition in rats

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23650471
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Eating habits, studies on eating habits
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	IKEDA Ikuo 東北大学, 大学院・農学研究科, 教授 (40136544)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	どか食い / ちょこちょこ食い / 内臓脂肪 / エネルギー代謝
Research Abstract	Generally, gorging pattern of eating has been thought to increase visceral fat deposition compared to nibbling pattern of eating. However, sufficient scientific proof has never been available. In the present study, we compared effects of meal frequency, once a day(gorging group) and thrice a day (nibbling group), on energy metabolism, visceral fat deposition and hepatic lipid metabolism in rats fed a high fat diet. Respiratory quotient (RQ) was higher and fat consumption was lower in the gorging group compared with the nibbling group. Total energy consumption was the same between the two groups. Final body weight and visceral fat weight were almost the same between the groups. However, concentrations of blood glucose, serum insulin, serum adiponectin and hepatic triacylglycerol were influenced by different meal frequency. These observations suggest that visceral fat deposition is not influenced by meal frequency at least in this experimental condition, but carbohydrate and lipid metabolisms are altered by eating habits.