Effects of Various Interventions on Binge-type Behavior in Rats
Open Access
- Author:
- Jurczyk, Magdalena
- Area of Honors:
- Nutritional Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Rebecca L Corwin, Thesis Supervisor
Jill Patterson, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Binge-eating
binge-type behavior
interventions
"protective effect"
"forbidden foods"
eating disorders
rat models
behavioral interventions
"clamped" shortening intake
intermittent schedule
daily schedule
clamped schedule. - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT When non-food-deprived rats are given intermittent access to vegetable shortening (a semi-solid fat used to make baked goods), consumption of the shortening is significantly greater than when daily access is provided. This binge-type behavior has been observed in several studies from this laboratory. The goal of the present study was to examine various interventions on binge-type behavior in rats. Four groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were used, all of which had continuous access to a standard rodent diet and water. The D (daily access) group had 1-hr unlimited access to shortening every day throughout the duration of the study. The MU, MD, and ML (intermittent) groups all had 1-hr unlimited access to shortening on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when on protocol. During intervention 1, the MU group remained on the protocol schedule with 1-hr unlimited access to shortening on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the MD group was placed on the daily schedule (1-hr unlimited access to shortening every day), and the ML group was given 1-hr “clamped” access (2.6-2.8 grams) to shortening on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Intervention 1 lasted 6 weeks. After intervention 1, the MD and ML groups were returned to the original protocol for 3 weeks to determine any long term effects of the intervention. After this period of time, intervention 2 was implemented. During intervention 2, all three intermittent groups were provided 1-hr access to a limited amount of shortening (2.6-2.8 g) on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and 1-hr access to unlimited shortening on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Intervention 2 lasted 6 weeks. Finally, after intervention 2 the MD, ML, and MU rats were returned to the original protocol for the remaining 2 weeks of the study. During intervention 1, the MD group consumed significantly less shortening on the daily schedule than when they were on the intermittent schedule. Furthermore, it took longer for the MD group to return to bingeing after the intervention was removed compared to the ML group. Another finding of this study is that intervention 2 seemed to work better than intervention 1 in that the MU and MD rats continued to not binge for an entire week during protocol 3 after intervention 2 compared to protocol 2 after intervention 1, in which the rats (MD group) went back to bingeing within 3 days. These results suggest that consuming a small amount of palatable food every day, while controlling one’s own intake, has a slight “protective effect” against bingeing behavior. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that interventions are successful while in place; however, once the intervention is removed and rats are subjected to their initial bingeing environment, the binge behavior returns.