The less weight loss due to modest food restriction drove more fat accumulation in striped hamsters refed with high–fat diet

Abstract Food restriction (FR) has been commonly used to decrease body fat, reducing the risk of overweight in humans and animals. However, the lost weight has been shown to be followed by overweight when food restriction ends. It remains uncertain whether the weight loss drives the overweight, or not. In the present study, striped hamsters were restricted by 15%, 30% and 40% of ad libitum food intake for 2 weeks, followed by high–fat refeeding for 6 weeks (FR15%–Re, FR30%–Re and FR40%–Re). The hamsters in FR15%, FR30% and FR40% groups decreased by 21.1%, 37.8% and 50.0% in fat mass ( P P ad libitum . The FR15%–Re, FR30%–Re and FR40%–Re groups showed 77.0%, 37.2% and 23.7% more body fat than ad libitum group ( P