THE INFLUENCE OF COLD AND DEPLETION ON FOOD AND WATER INTAKE

Resumen

Twenty four rats were accustomed to feed for 24 hr and fast for 24 hr, alternatively, with water ad libitum. Half of them were fed a high carbohydrate diet (HC) and the other half a high fat non carbohydrate diet (HF). Half of the HC fed,  and half of the HF fed, were then exposed to a cold environment (6°C) during the days of feeding; the other half were exposed to cold during the days of fasting. This was done in order to separate the effects of cold during feeding, from the effects of the increased reserve depletion produced by cold the day before feeding. The results showed that the rats eating in the cold had an overall higher food-intake than those
fasting in the cold. While this is compatible with the hypothesis that, information from skin , or skin and muscle receptors, is responsible for the increased feeding during cold, it is also compatible with the idea that only active depression of liver glycogen (which produces a "decreasing" glucose concentration in the liver) is the driving stimulus for the increased feeding.