Proximity of food, sex, and access to running wheels: Effects on food intake in rats.

To test the hypothesis that the addition and withdrawal of a running wheel affects food intake because of a manipulation of the proximity of the rat to the food dish, a 2nd source of food was made available to the rat when in the running wheel. Ss were 24 male and 24 female ARS/Sprague-Dawley albino rats. Results fail to support the hypothesis. Additional findings were that both sexes showed the reduction in food intake when given access to running wheels, but only the males showed an increase in food intake when deprived of access to running wheels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)