Excess Dietary Folic Acid Promotes Weight Gain in Rats Fed a High Fat Diet

• Author / Creator

  Kelly, Karen

• Mandatory folate fortification polices in North America have resulted in high levels of circulating folate in the population. At the same time, a trend toward increased energy intake and reduced energy expenditure has lead to an increased prevalence of obesity, characterized by an accumulation of adipose tissue. Adipose tissue expansion has been implicated in the development of metabolic abnormalities observed in obesity, including altered secretion of cytokines and peripheral insulin resistance. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary folic acid deficiency and excess on food intake, weight gain and body composition. On a high fat diet, rats fed excess folic acid gained significantly more weight than the control group. While both folic acid deficient and supplemented rats had impaired glucose tolerance, these effects appear to be dependent on a high fat diet, because these phenomena were not observed in rats fed a lower fat diet.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Adipose tissue
  • Phospholipids
  • Folate
  • Gene-expression

• Graduation date

  Spring 2014

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R33T1F

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.