Table 3.

Experiment 2, Adult Study. Effects of dietary methionine on food consumption and body composition over time in rats after initiation of the MR diet at 6 months of age

	Time on Diets
	Pre-intervention Measures		3 mo		6 Mo
	Control	MR	Control	MR	Control	MR
Body Weight (g)	387 ± 6	388 ± 5	438 ± 7	376 ± 4*	472 ± 12	370 ± 6*
Fat Mass (g)	90.5 ± 2.1	88.4 ± 1.7	109 ± 3	85.6 ± 1.6*	125 ± 5	84.3 ± 2.3*
% Adiposity1	23.3 ± 0.3	22.8 ± 0.3	25.5 ± 0.3	23.2 ± 0.2*	26.3 ± 0.4	22.7 ± 0.4*
Fat Free Mass (g)	273 ± 4	274 ± 3	297 ± 4	266 ± 2*	314 ± 6	264 ± 4*
% Fat Free Mass2	70.4 ± 0.3	70.7 ± 0.3	67.9 ± 0.3	70.7 ± 0.2*	66.7 ± 0.5	71.3 ± 0.3*
Food Intake3 (kJ/rat/d)	298 ± 7	297 ± 7	281 ± 4	284 ± 6	263 ± 9	255 ± 6
Food Intake4 (kJ/d/g BW)	0.74 ± 0.02	0.75 ± 0.02	0.64 ± 0.01	0.75 ± 0.02*	0.56 ± 0.01	0.69 ± 0.02*

¹Thirty-two 6 mo old male rats were singly housed and fed the Control diet for 7 d and then half the rats were randomized to receive the MR diet while the remaining rats continued to receive the Control diet. Body weight, body composition, and food intake were measured at weekly intervals. Response variables at each time point were compared using a 2-way ANOVA and least squares means of each variable were compared using residual variance as the error term and the Bonferroni correction. Means annotated with an asterisk differ from the Control group means at P<0.05.

²The % Adiposity was calculated as the fat mass/body weight x 100 and % fat free mass was calculated as fat free mass divided by body weight x 100.

³The average food intake less spillage was determined over a 24 h period in rats on each diet, converted to kJ, and expressed as kJ/rat/day.

⁴The average energy intake per day was expressed per unit of body weight.