Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether or not there were age differences in the effects of increasing durations of food deprivation on food intake in rats. The experiment was carried out according to a 3 by 3 by 3 by 7 mixed design consisting of three age groups of 12 female Sprague-Dawley rats each (4, 11, and 24 months), subdivided into three sequence-effects control groups (ABC, BCA, CAB), with each rat exposed to each food-deprivation duration (24, 48, and 96 h), and refeeding measured for 7 days. The dependent variables were: latency to eat, amount of food per day consumed during refeeding, and body weight. Prior to food deprivation , the 4-month-old rats ate less than the 11-month-old rats or the 24-month-old rats , but these differences were proportional to age differences in body weight. The effects of duration of deprivation, order, and days of refeeding were proportional across age, suggesting equal responsivity to the effects of these factors on food intake across a large segment of the life span of the female rat.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bolles, R. C. Readiness to eat: Effects of age, sex, and weight loss. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1965, 60, 88–92.
Bolles, R. C, & Rapp, H. M. Readiness to eat and drink: Effect of stimulus conditions. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1965, 60, 93–97.
Cichetti, D. V. Extension of multiple-range tests to interaction tables in the analysis of variance: A rapid, approximate solution. Psychological Bulletin, 1972, 77, 405–408.
Goodrick, C. L. Activity and exploration as a function of age and deprivation. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1966, 108, 239–252.
Hamilton, C. L. Problems of refeeding after starvation in the rat. Annals of the New York Academy Sciences, 1969, 157, 1004–1017.
Jerome, E. A. Age and learning: Experimental studies. In J. E. Birren (Ed.), Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959. Pp. 655–699.
Kleiber, M. The fire of life. New York: Wiley, 1961.
Marwine, A. G., & Collier, G. Instrumental and consummatory behavior as a function of rate of weight loss and weight maintenance schedule. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1971, 74, 441–447.
Williams, R. A. Effects of repeated food deprivations and repeated feeding tests on feeding behavior. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1968, 65, 222–226.
Winer, B. J. Statistical principles in experimental design (2nded.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This investigation was supported by 821 funds of the Veterans Administration. The author acknowledges the competent technical assistance of J. Hoefel. David Ritchie, and Vern Mcintosh.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jakubczak, L.F. Food intake as a function of age and food deprivation. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 2, 304–306 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329282
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329282