Abstract
•Wheel running decreases high-fat diet intake after DAMGO injection.•Wheel running decreases preference for previously preferred high-fat diet.•Wheel running suppresses weight gain during high-fat diet exposure.•Exercised and sedentary rats had similar reward gene expression profile.
The ranges of mechanisms by which exercise affects energy balance remain unclear. One potential mechanism may be that exercise reduces intake and preference for highly palatable, energy dense fatty foods. The current study used a rodent wheel running model to determine whether and how physical activity affects HF diet intake/preference and reward signaling. Experiment 1 examined whether wheel running affected the ability of intracerebroventricular (ICV) μ opioid receptor agonist D-Ala2, NMe-Phe4, Glyol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) to increase HF diet intake. Experiment 2 examined the effects of wheel running on the intake of and preference for a previously preferred HF diet. We also assessed the effects of wheel running and diet choice on mesolimbic dopaminergic and opioidergic gene expression. Experiment 1 revealed that wheel running decreased the ability of ICV DAMGO administration to stimulate HF diet intake. Experiment 2 showed that wheel running suppressed weight gain and reduced intake and preference for a previously preferred HF diet. Furthermore, the mesolimbic gene expression profile of wheel running rats was different from that of their sedentary paired-fed controls but similar to that of sedentary rats with large HF diet consumption. These data suggest that alterations in preference for palatable, energy dense foods play a role in the effects of exercise on energy homeostasis. The gene expression results also suggest that the hedonic effects of exercise may substitute for food reward to limit food intake and suppress weight gain.