Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 58, Issue 2 500-505, Copyright © 1985 by American Physiological Society
Effect of exercise duration on feed intake and body composition of Swiss albino mice
R. Bulbulian, K. K. Grunewald and R. R. Haack
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of daily exercise of
varying duration on the body composition, weight, and feed intake of mature
Swiss albino mice. Fifty-four male mice were equally divided into a control
group and five exercise groups (n = 9) performing 20, 40, 60, 120, and 240
min of daily exercise on a treadmill (7.2 m/min). Feed intake and body
weight were measured weekly for 10 wk. At the completion of the study the
mice were killed and the animal carcasses were chemically analyzed for fat,
dry matter, and protein content. The results of this study demonstrate no
differences in the body weight among groups (P less than 0.97) with all
groups gaining 4.5-5.8 g during the 10-wk period. However, fat content
decreased significantly from 15.7% in the control to 12.0% in the 120- and
240-min exercise groups (P less than 0.05). In contrast, protein content
showed an insignificant rising trend from 13.0 to 14.6% with increasing
duration of exercise. Feed intake showed a nonsignificant drop during the
20-min exercise treatment and remained unchanged among groups. These data
show a slight but variable appetite-suppressing effect of light exercise in
mice accompanied by favorable body composition changes even in the absence
of differences in body weight. These findings suggest the mouse to be an
acceptable experimental model for body composition and exercise studies.
