Body weight gain is correlated with serum cholesterol at 8 weeks of age in pigs selected for four generations for low or high serum cholesterol.

We determined the relationship of BW at birth, weaning (4 wk of age), and 8 wk of age to serum total cholesterol (C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) at 8 wk of age in pigs, from the fourth generation that had been selected for low (10 litters, 75 pigs, LC) or high (10 litters, 63 pigs, HC) C at 8 wk of age. Mean C concentration at 8 wk of age was 81 +/- 30 mg/dL for LC groups and 136 +/- 19 mg/dL for HC groups. Serum C, HDL-C, and TG concentrations were not correlated with birth weight, suggesting that the physiological factors that may cause reduced weight gain in older animals are not operative in newborn pigs. All three constituents were correlated (P < .05) with BW at weaning and at 8 wk. However, only 4% of the variation in weight at weaning and 7% at 8 wk could be explained by a relationship with serum TG. There was a positive correlation between C and BW at 8 wk (r = .46, P < .05), which was apparent within the subgroups of LC and HC females and LC males (r = .46, .48, .68, respectively); the correlation was low (r = .26) in HC males.