Refeeding hypertension in dietary obesity.

A novel model of nutritionally induced hypertension in the rat is described. Dietary obesity was produced by providing sweet milk in addition to regular chow, which elicited a 52% increase in caloric intake. Despite 54% greater body weight gain and 139% heavier retroperitoneal fat pads, 120 days of overfeeding failed to increase systolic pressure in the conscious state (125 +/- 8 vs. 121 +/- 4 mmHg in chow-fed controls) or mean arterial pressure under urethan anesthesia (71 +/- 4 vs. 63 +/- 3 mmHg). In contrast, mild hypertension developed in intermittantly fasted obese animals (a 21-mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure measured in the conscious state and a 16-mmHg increase in mean arterial pressure under anesthesia relative to chow-fed controls). The first 4-day supplemented fast was initiated 4 wk after the introduction of sweet milk, when the animals were 47 g overweight relative to chow-fed controls. Thereafter, 4 days of starvation were alternated with 2 wk of refeeding for a total of 4 cycles. A rapid fall in systolic blood pressure (12 +/- 2 mmHg at 2 days) accompanied the onset of supplemented fasting and was maintained thereafter (2.7 +/- 2.6 mmHg further decrease during the latter half of the fast). With refeeding, blood pressure rose precipitously (13 +/- 3 mmHg in the 1st 2 days), despite poststarvation anorexia. Blood pressure tended to rise slightly over the remainder of the realimentation period (5.2 +/- 2.8 mmHg). After the 4th supplemented fast, hypertension was sustained during 30 days of refeeding. Cumulative caloric intake in starved-refed rats fell within 2% of that in chow-fed controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)