The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Hedonic Eating

Background: The high availability of palatable, calorie dense and nutrient poor foods promote hedonic eating, defined as the drive to eat to obtain pleasure in the absence of an energy deficit. Poor sleep and hedonic eating, independently, drive obesity at the societal level. However, it is unknown whether the combination of sleep loss and access to palatable food synergistically increases weight gain. Objective: The purpose was to test whether chronic partial sleep deprivation by a method that increases weight gain also increases hedonic eating and exacerbates weight gain in rodents. We hypothesized that 1) type of diet, 2) preference for the diets and 3) sex would moderate the effect of sleep loss on calorie intake and weight gain in sleep deprived rodents. Subjects/Methods: Three-month old male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 58 males and n = 10 females) were acclimated to hedonic diets for 7-d and then exposed to pre-recorded environmental noise (8h/d for 9-d). Body weight was measured every other day, unless mentioned otherwise. Food intake, corrected for uneaten food, was measured daily. Results: Noise exposure did not affect body weight gain and total calorie intake among male rats who had access to both a high and a low-fat diet. The effect of noise exposure on chocolate intake differed between male rats who were classified as high or low preference for chocolate. Initial preference for chocolate was greater in females compared to male rats. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of preference and sex when investigating the effects of partial sleep deprivation on hedonic eating and obesity