Macronutrient Selection in Experimental Animals

Abstract

To address the question of how animals choose diets from an array of nutritionally different foods, researchers have designed experiments in which animals are provided with separate sources of the three macronutrients, protein, fat and carbohydrate. These experiments are useful for investigating the neuroanatomical and neurochemical mechanisms involved in food choice, as well as for assessing the effects of changes in physiological status (e.g., pregnancy; lactation and increased energy expenditure) or disease states (e.g., diabetes; and obesity) on nutrient intakes.