Regulatory defense of the exercise-induced weight elevation in hamsters

Twelve adult female hamsters were given free access to horizontal disc exercisers over a 41-day period while 10 hamsters of matching weight remained sedentary. An accelerated weight gain of 1.1 g/day on Days 7-41 of activity and during 21 days following its termination led to a 33.8-g upward displacement of exercising hamsters' weight above the weight level maintained by sedentary controls (P The permanence of the exercise-induced weight elevation was tested by subjecting half of the exercised and half of the sedentary hamsters to a 20% weight loss. Upon the reintroduction of unlimited food the sedentary and exercised hamsters which had undergone a 20% weight loss made comparable adjustments in the rate of weight gain and in caloric intake and restored their weight to the level of nonreduced controls. These results demonstrate that disc exercise induces an upward resetting of the regulated weight level in adult hamsters.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22120/1/0000547.pd