Effects of random food deprivation on energy metabolism in striped hamsters with different diets

Small mammals frequently encounter the challenge of food availability in the wild. The food resources of striped hamsters exhibit significant seasonal variations, and both the quantity and composition of food can impact the metabolic phenotype of striped hamsters. In this study, we investigate the impact of random food deprivation on the energy metabolism in striped hamsters with different diets. We hypothesized that striped hamsters consuming high fat diets significantly enhanced resilience to food scarcity. In the experiment, adult male striped hamsters were randomly divided into four groups each with 8 individuals: high-fat diet control group (HF-Con), high-fat diet intermittent fasting group (HF-IF), low-fat diet control group (LF-Con), and low-fat diet intermittent fasting group (LF-IF) and then domesticated for 5 weeks. By measuring body mass, food intake, metabolic rate, body fat, and tissue metabolism, we analyzed the strategies of striped hamsters in response to random food deprivation under high and low-fat diets. The results showed that the body mass and subcutaneous fat weight of the HF-IF group were significantly reduced, while overall and tissue metabolism changes were not significant after random food deprivation.The LF-IF group significantly reduced body mass, food intake, the weight of brown adipose tissue (BAT), and nocturnal metabolic rate, but significantly increased the resting metabolic rate (RMR). The body mass of the HF-IF group significantly decreased during the fasting period and quickly returned to a new homeostasis after re-feeding. In contrast, the body mass of the LF-IF group decreased gradually. Therefore, the striped hamsters with high-fat diets exhibited strong compensatory mechanisms during the fasting-refeeding process, whereas those in the LF-IF group could not adapt to random food deprivation. The high-fat diets significantly increased the hamsters’ body fat content to maintain their energy balance during food scarcity. In summary, these findings were consistent with our expectations, emphasizing that diets determined the survival adaptation strategies of animals, and striped hamsters on a high-fat diet could better resist the risks associated with the food shortage.