Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a low-energy diet on rat dams and physical activity in water during the perinatal period on body weight, somatic growth, and neuromotor development.
Methods: Rat dams were fed with control or low-energy diets from the third gestational week. At 8 days old the littermates were either involved or not in aquatic physical activity. The groups were initially divided into normocaloric (C) or low-energy (LE) diets. The study included 52 male pups from primiparous Wistar rats. Exercise in water was carried out with the pups from the age of 8 to 52 days. Four experimental groups were formed: inactive control (IC), active control (AC), inactive low-energy (ILE), and active low-energy (ALE). Somatic growth (tail length (TL), lateral-lateral axis of the skull (LLAS), anterior-posterior axis of the skull (APAS), and longitudinal axis (LA)), maturation of reflexes and neuromotor development of pup locomotion were analyzed along with a biochemical profile.
Results: During lactation the body weight range (%) was lower for ILE compared with IC (38%, P < 0.05), as ALE body weight gain was lower (29%, P < 0.05) compared with AC and bigger (17%, P < 0.05) compared with ILE. At 21st day reduced body weight was observed in LE diet groups (IC = 48.62 ± 1.36 g; AC = 48.30 ± 1.03 g; ILE = 30.49 ± 1.60 g; ALE = 39.38 ± 1.06 g, P < 0.05). Compared with control diet, the LE diet delayed somatic growth of pups from 2nd week to end lactation, but the early physical activity in LE group improved some parameters of somatic growth (TL: IC = 68.87 ± 1.00 mm, AC = 68.80 ± 1.10 mm, ILE = 60.21 ± 1.14 mm, ALE = 64.61 ± 0.55 mm; LA: IC = 113.21 ± 1.73 mm, AC = 113.33 ± 1.37 mm, ILE = 99.40 ± 1.67 mm, ALE = 106.76 ± 0.79 mm; APAS: IC = 37.10 ± 0.32 mm, AC: 37.18 ± 0.23 mm, ILE = 34.11 ± 0.33 mm, ALE = 35.84 ± 0.30 mm; LLAS: IC = 18.71 ± 0.24 mm, AC = 19.00 ± 0.16 mm, ILE = 17.10 ± 0.19 mm, ALE = 17.87 ± 0.11 mm, P < 0.05) and reflex ontogeny. Nevertheless, fewer changes were observed in locomotor activity (P > 0.05). At 60 days old, the food intake and measures of murinometrics did not differ among groups, but they had lower glucose levels ILE (IC = 4.14 ± 0.23 mmol/l, AC = 3.70 ± 0.22 mmol/l, ILE = 3.38 ± 0.20 mmol/l, ALE = 4.17 ± 0.09 mmol/l, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Taken together, we suggest that physical activity in water acts as a beneficial factor in LE diets of dams during the perinatal period. Further study is necessary to investigate the role of physical activity for adaptation against adverse nutritional stimuli.