“
TL;DR
In a rat study, male animals on a high-fat, high-sucrose diet showed increased body weight, insulin resistance, and carbohydrate-linked mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle, while female animals did not show these metabolic changes.
Nutrients · 10 authors, 7 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
In a rat study, male animals on a high-fat, high-sucrose diet showed increased body weight, insulin resistance, and carbohydrate-linked mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle, while female animals did not show these metabolic changes.
This preclinical study investigated sex-specific adaptations in rat skeletal muscle in response to a 14-week high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet. Male rats on the HFHS diet developed greater body weight and insulin resistance compared to chow-fed males, whereas female rats on the HFHS diet did not differ from their chow-fed counterparts. A primary finding was a significant interaction between sex and diet on carbohydrate-linked mitochondrial respiration, with males showing increased respiration on the HFHS diet and females showing no change. The study found no evidence of diet- or sex-related differences in key markers of mitochondrial biogenesis, dynamics, or autophagy at the 14-week endpoint. Exploratory RNA sequencing revealed sex-specific pathway activation, with females showing higher expression of nutrient storage pathways and males showing greater activation of inflammation-related pathways.