Diets for diet-induced obesity (DIO)

Diets with 55-60% of calories from fat like TD.06414 and TD.93075 are commonly used for inducing obesity in rodents. While considered extreme compared to typical human fat consumption, these diets are effective in initiating rapid weight gain in most rodents. With higher fat content there is less room for carbohydrate, thus the carbohydrate (particularly sucrose) amount is relatively low compared to other obesity inducing diets. If you are interested in high fat and high carbohydrate, look at diets with 40-45% of calories from fat (often referred to as western diets).

As the fat level increases, pellet quality (durability) is often compromised. Some higher fat formulas are available only in non-pelleted form or require specific carbohydrate, maltodextrin, for pelleting. Depending on the fat and carbohydrate sources used, the non-pelleted form could be dense and crumbly, dough-like, or paste-like. Though a little more challenging to work with, non-pelleted diet is still used by many researchers for diet-induced obesity models as these researchers suspect the softer form may enhance obesity development.

Diets with 40-45% of calories from fat, like TD.95217 , TD.88137 , TD.06415 , and TD.08811 , represent another popular diet pattern for diet-induced obesity work. These diets have double or triple the amount of sucrose found in higher fat diets. High levels of simple carbohydrate like sucrose and fructose may help to promote hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance, and fatty liver. Diets with a pattern of high sucrose and high saturated or trans fat are often referred to as “Western Diets” in obesity and cardiovascular fields. Some “Western Diets” have further modifications to the fatty acid profile or even specific vitamin and minerals adjustments to be even more closely matched to a Western Diet pattern. For specific fatty acid modifications, see examples on our fat/lipid adjusted diets page.