Analysis of behavioral responses to sugar intake as an elicitor stimulus for physical activity

Abstract

In several studies it has been identified that exposing experimental animals to a sweetened drink results in a decrease in food consumption, while excessive consumption of said drink occurs. On the other hand, considering that the main brain fuel is glucose, whose main source of production is the food consumed by organisms, including sugar, which could be taken as a stimulant for the activity due to its energy content, the objective is to evaluate the effect of the consumption of sweetened beverages at different concentrations the amount of physical activity that is performed in albino rats. An ABA experimental design was implemented. Twelve four-month-old female rats were assigned to three experimental groups, with free access to water and food and also access to an activity wheel for 30 minutes daily for 90 days. In Phase 2, they were exposed to different concentrations of a sweetened solution for 12 hours: Group 1 at 3.84%, Group 2 at 7.40% and Group 3 at 10.71%. It was identified that food consumption decreased in the phase in which the sweetened beverage was presented, according to the following relationship: the lower the concentration of sugar in the solution, the higher the intake. It was recorded that ingesting these beverages generated changes in the activity pattern. No significant differences in the subjects’ body weight were identified. Based on the above, it is considered that the consumption of sweetened beverages in this study, regardless of concentration, had no effect on body weight by exposure to the activity wheel. This suggests that subjects are capable of making behavioral adjustments to environmental modifications, such as adding sweetened beverages to their diet.