Background: Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by recurrent binge eating episodes consisting of rapid consumption of excessive amounts of highly palatable, energy-dense food within discrete periods of time. The aim of this study was to test the consummatory, food microstructural, and metabolic effects of a one hour limited access to either a high-sucrose diet (HSD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) in an operant rat model of binge-like eating.
Methods: Female rats were subject to a binge-like eating procedure in which a HSD, a HFD, or a standard chow diet were provided in a fixed ratio 1 (FR1) operant schedule of reinforcement.
Results: Limiting access to either a HSD or a HFD promoted binge-like eating as compared to the control chow diet. However, binge-like eating of HSD, but not HFD, was based on a true increase in the amount of food consumed, an increased eating rate, and a decrease in the intake of the home-cage standard chow, altogether suggesting an increase in palatability. Moreover, while HSD rats consumed overall less energy than HFD rats, the former were more energy efficient and gained more body weight than the latter.
Conclusions: These results provide information on how the quality of food can deeply influence the behavioral and metabolic outcomes of binge-like eating.
Keywords: binge eating disorder; microstructure; palatable diet.