Abstract
The relationship between body weight gain and food intake was examined using 3 strains of mice, C3H/He, C57BL/6 and A/J mice, that were fed 4 kinds of diets differing in crude protein contents. Body weight gain of the mice fed the diet containing 3% protein was extremely small, while that of the mice fed the diet containing 40% protein was smaller than that of the mice fed the diet containing 10% or 20% protein. Mice were shown to possess a characteristic ability to intake an almost constant amount of calories irrespective of crude protein contents in diets, with some exceptions. These experimental results indicate that crude protein intake plays an important role for body weight gain. It was also assumed that energy consumption in C57BL/6 mice fed the 40% protein diet was accelerated because of excessive protein intake. Normal NK activity and antibody responses to SRBC were maintained at the age of 12 weeks in all the strains of mice fed the different diets.
