High Fat Diet Induced Obesity as a Model for Cardiac and Metabolic Dysfunction

The purpose of this study is to investigate if high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity alone can act as a model for both cardiac and metabolic dysfunction in a mouse model. We measured body weight, energy consumption, body composition, and fasting glucose levels in mice fed high fat diet and a regular control diet (NCD). The HFD was composed of 30% sucrose and 41% fat, and was intended to mimic what is considered a standard western human diet which is high in fat and sugar. We hypothesize that mice fed high fat diet will have an obese phenotype characterized by increased body weight, fat mass and fasting glucose levels. In addition, the obese phenotype will be accompanied by early signs of cardiac dysfunction. Preliminary data from this study indicates that high fat diet does induce an obese phenotype, characterized by increase body weight, fat mass/percentage, and increased fasting glucose levels. Ultimately, this is an active study and further investigation will be done to identify if high fat diet alone is sufficient to induce cardiac dysfunction.This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)