EFFECT OF EXERCISE AND TEPARY BEAN TYPE DIET ON BODY-COMPOSITION AND FAT ACCRETION IN OBESE ZUCKER RATS

OBJECTIVE: The effectiveness of a tepary bean high fat type diet, comp ared to a purified type high fat diet and exercise, on body compositio n in fatty Zucker rats was determined. SUBJECTS AND DESIGN: Approximat ely 6-week-old female fa/fa Zucker rats were divided into four groups of 10 rats each: TE, fed the tepary bean type diet and exercised; TN, fed the tepary bean type diet and not exercised; CE, fed the purified type control diet and exercised; CN, fed the purified type control die t and not exercised. The exercise modality was treadmill running and t he experiment lasted 13 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Body weight, cumulative f ood intake, body composition, weights of adipose tissues and liver, he art and gastrocnemius muscle. RESULTS: At the end of the 13 week exper iment, TE rats weighed 511 +/- 22 g and were significantly lighter tha n TN, 588 +/- 15 g; CE, 606 +/- 22 g; and CN, 660 +/- 27 g. All are me ans +/- s.e.m. The carcass of CN rats had 58, 20 and 13% more fat than TE, TN and CE rats, respectively; P < 0.01. Lean body mass was the sa me for all the groups of rats and ranged from means of 216-228 g. Howe ver, TE rats had significantly more fat free dry mass (FFDM) than CN r ats; 68 +/- 4 vs 58 +/- 2 (means +/- s.e.m.) and tended to have more F FDM than TN and CE rats. Inguinal fat depots weighed 20-30% less in T than in C rats (diet comparisons) and also 20-30% less in E than in N rats (exercise comparisons). Perirenal/retroperitoneal fat depots weig hed 25% less in TN than in CN rats and 38% less in TE than in CE rats. Exercise did not reduce perirenal/retroperitoneal fat depot weights. Parametrial fat depot weights were not influenced by diet or exercise. CONCLUSIONS: In diets which provided 37% of the energy from fat, the incorporation of tepary beans attenuated weight gain, and subcutaneous and visceral fat gain compared to a purified type diet. Exercised rat s gained less weight and subcutaneous, but not visceral fat, than non- exercised rats.