International audienceA complete diet was prepared withcooked pieces of meat, beans, cream starch, and water andpresented to the rats in two different textures: a blendedpure´e and a rough mixture that required a lot of chewing. Wehypothesized that this texture modification might changeboth anticipatory reflexes and feeding behavior. Feedingrate, meal size, intermeal intervals, and their correlationwere monitored in response to each texture. The long-term (6wk) effect on body weight was assessed. Periprandial plasmaglucose, insulin, glucagon, and lipid concentrations were assayed.Whole and background metabolism, respiratory quotient,and locomotion were measured using a computerizedcalorimeter of original design. In the short term, rats preferredthe mixture. However, after 3 wk, they ingested morepure´e than mixture and gained more body weight per gram offood ingested as pure´e. Insulin response declined earlier withthe mixture. During meals, glycerol and free fatty acid increasedearlier with pure´e, whereas in the postprandial period,glycerol increased earlier with mixture. The metabolicrate, however, was not significantly affected. We concludedthat texture, an everyday manipulation performed on food forhuman consumption, affects not only palatability of ingestantsbut als
