Five groups consisting of six male Wister strain rats which just had weaned were raised for fourteen weeks with the diet whose fat level is 13, 20, 30, 40, and 50 Cal % percent respectively, 13% being the average amount of fat obtained by national dietary survey in 1961 and dietary allowance of fat for 1970. The calories of protein in the diet was 13% of the total calories for all groups.
The national survey stated above showed that about 50% of the total fat was given by proteinous foods such as milk, eggs, meat and fish, and the remaining 50% was supplied mainly by visible fat. Visible fat was a mixture of one part nonsalted butter, one part margarine, and three parts soybean oil. In the present work a mixture of soybeans (27.4g), muccurel (100.0g), pork (28.0g), eggs (28.5g), all of which being heated and dried, and whole milk powder (3.3g) served as the source of invisible fat. The ratio of this invisible fat to visible fat was made at 50: 50.
The mineral component was supplied by McCallum salt mixture and the vitamin source was Panvitan powder.
The fat level in the diet affected weight gain. After the eighth week the weight gain decreased with the fat level in the following order: 50, 30, 40, 20, 13 Cal%.
The cumulative weight gain per 100 calories of total diet decreased in the following order of the percentage of fat:
up to the seventh week-
50% 40% 30% 20% 13%
the eighth and ninth week-
40% 30% 50% 20% 13%
the tenth week-
30% 40% 20% 50% 13%
The calorie intake per 1 gram body weight decreased rapidly with the week. At equal week of age, values of the calorie intake obtained with each group were very close.
Plasma cholesterol was not affected by the nature of the feed.
At the end of the experiment, lipase activity of pancreas and small-intestine was high in the group fed by 30 Cal % fat diet.
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