Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation is associated with increased energy expenditure by inducing non-shivering thermogenesis. The ingestion of a milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) supplement and a high calorie diet are reported gateways into BAT activation. However, little is known about the effect of the MFGM and high calorie diets on BAT volume. To gain insight into this, mice were maintained on a high-fat (HF) or low-fat (LF) diet in conjunction with either full-cream (FC) or skim bovine dairy milk (BDM). After being maintained on their respective diets for 13 weeks, their body composition, including BAT volume, was measured using X-ray microtomography. A high calorie diet resulted in an increase in the BAT volume and mice consuming an HF diet in conjunction with FC BDM had a significantly greater BAT volume than all the other groups. Conversely, mice consuming an HF diet in addition to skim milk had a lower BAT volume compared to the HF control. The data presented suggest that the consumption of a high calorie diet in conjunction with FC BDM increases the BAT volume in wild-type mice. This study may provide valuable insight into future studies investigating BAT volume and BAT activity in relation to environmental factors, including diet.
Keywords: body composition; brown adipose tissue; hypercaloric diet; milk.