Endocrine Abstracts

Feeding a cafeteria diet in rodent pregnancy can induce altered food preferences and greater weight gain in the resulting offspring. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of diet induced obesity or high fat feeding on maternal adaptation to pregnancy.

Three week-old Wistar rats were fed either chow diet alone (n=24) or cafeteria diet (n=24) for 8 weeks before mating. After mating, the rats were maintained on the chow diet (CO/CF) (n=12) or cafeteria diet (CF/CF) (n=12), or switched from chow diet to cafeteria diet (CO/CF) (n=12) or from cafeteria diet to chow diet (CF/CO) (n=12). Food intakes and body weights were measured in all groups daily. On day 5 or 20 of gestation the maternal plasma volume was determined through the i.v. infusion of Evans blue dye under terminal anaesthesia. From the baseline plasma samples glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured. Gonadal and perirenal fat pads were weighed after culling of each animal. Maternal body composition was assessed through whole body carcass analysis. For the animals culled on day 20 of gestation fetus and placenta were weighed.

The higher energy density of cafeteria diet resulted in significantly increased maternal body weight and body fat by day 20 of gestation (P<0.001). Plasma volume, cholesterol and triglyceride measurements did not differ significantly between the groups suggesting that cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy was not compromised by maternal obesity (P>0.05). The CO/CF had slightly increased plasma glucose concentrations compared to the CO/CO group (P=0.05). Fetal weights in group CF/CO and CF/CF were significantly lower birth weights than in groups CO/CO and CO/CF on day 20 of gestation. The placental weight was significantly lower in the CO/CF and CF/CF groups (P<0.05). Future studies will examine further aspects of the influence of maternal obesity upon the development of the fetus.