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PubMed1998

Overfeeding fat as monoglyceride or triglyceride: effect on appetite, nutrient balance and the subsequent day's energy intake.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of overfeeding isoenergetic diets enriched in 1-monoglyceride or triglyceride on nutrient oxidation and appetite throughout the day that it was given and the subsequent day's food and energy intake. DESIGN: Six men [mean (s.d.) weight; 76.89 (7.00) kg, height; 1.77 (0.05) m, age; 26.4 (6.0) y], were each studied twice in a 3 d protocol. On day 1 (maintenance day) they were fed a medium fat (MF) maintenance diet (MF: 40% fat, 47% carbohydrate and 13% protein by energy) calculated at 1.6 x resting metabolic rate (RMR). Subjects entered the calorimeter at 06.30 on day 2 for 49.5 h. On day 2 (manipulation day) subjects consumed a MF diet at 1.6 x RMR with an additional 0.45 x RMR as either 1-monoglyceride or triglyceride. On day 3 (outcome day), subjects had ad libitum access to isoenergetic, isoenergetically dense MF (40 :47: 13, 550 kJ/ 100 g) foods. Subjective hunger and satiety were tracked hourly, during waking hours throughout days 1-3. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of diet on nutrient oxidation or balance either during day 2 (manipulation day) or day 3 (outcome day), fat oxidation was similar on both diets. Subjective hunger was not affected by diet on either day with mean values of 34.3 and 35.0 mm (SED 5.2) on manipulation day (day 2) and outcome day (day 3), 35.3 and 40.8 mm (SED 5.2) on the 1 -monoglyceride or triglyceride diets respectively. Day 3 food and energy intake were unaffected by the previous day's dietary treatment, with mean intakes of 15.9 and 15.6 MJ (SED 1.07) on the 1-monoglyceride or triglyceride treatments, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that when 1-monoglyceride is covertly incorporated into a diet at unusually high levels, it behaves in a manner that is very similar to triglyceride, in its effects on appetite, feeding behaviour and net nutrient balance.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Comparison of the traditional paper visual analogue scale questionnaire with an Apple Newton electronic appetite rating system (EARS) in free living subjects feeding ad libitum.

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the value of a newly developed electronic visual analogue scale questionnaire (Apple Newton Message Pad) with the traditional paper method for appetite rating. DESIGN: In a random, crossover design, subjects completed both electronic and paper questionnaires to compare results obtained by the two methods; individual methods were completed consecutively to assess test-retest reliability; preference was established using a questionnaire. SETTING/SUBJECTS: Healthy, free-living adults were studied for comparison of methods (n = 12), test-retest reliability (n = 8) and preference (n = 13). INTERVENTION: Visual analogue scales were completed each waking hour to assess appetite. Preference was assessed after both methods were completed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the hourly results obtained by the paper and electronic methods for 'desire to eat', 'how much can you eat now', 'urge to eat' and 'preoccupation with thoughts of food'. Small differences in 'hunger' and 'fullness' ratings were noted (approximately 5% mean difference between methods, P < 0.05), but patterns of change and sensitivity for these and all other parameters remained similar for both methods across the visual analogue scale. Test-retest reliability demonstrated was similar for both methods. Seven (54%) subjects preferred to use the paper questionnaire, five (38%) the electronic method and one (8%) had no preference. CONCLUSIONS: The electronic Apple Newton questionnaire is as sensitive and reliable as the paper method, has the advantage that it automatically records the time of data acquisition and data collection and processing are more efficient for the researcher. The two methods should not be used interchangeably.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Social and cultural perspectives on hunger, appetite and satiety.

The aim of this review is to show how hunger, satiety and appetite can be seen as a central research subject for the social sciences, both as the locus where food consumption is bodily regulated and as the nexus where biology, social praxis and cultural meanings meet and are negotiated by the individual. The number of people developing overweight and obesity is increasing, as is the prevalence of eating disorders and weight preoccupation. These tendencies can be considered as expressions of a polarization of eating habits in modern societies, where lack of control or exaggerated control over eating are still more common phenomena. At the same time the tendencies may be seen as the result of a more general ambivalence in relation to food, which influences the experiences of hunger, satiety and appetite and their regulating effect on food consumption.

Appetite↗
PubMed1999

Acute appetite reduction associated with an increased frequency of eating in obese males.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of altered feeding frequencies on the relationship between perceived hunger and subsequent food intake and appetite control in obese men. DESIGN: Obese men reported in a fasted state in the morning to the laboratory where an isoenergetic pre-load (4100+/-234 kJ, which was 33% average daily energy requirement (ADER) of each subject) comprising 70% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 15% fat was given. This was administered either as a SINGLE meal, or divided evenly over 5 meals given hourly as a MULTI feeding pattern. Five hours after the first pre-load, an ad libitum test meal was given to determine whether there was a difference in the amount of energy that was consumed between the two eating patterns. SUBJECTS: Seven non-diabetic, non-smoking, unrestrained obese men (age 37.4+/-18.5; BMI 40.02+/-10. 93 kg/m-2) were recruited for this study. Subjects were not told the precise reasons for this study but rather were informed that changes in blood glucose, insulin and free fatty acids with meal frequency were to be monitored. MEASUREMENTS: Blood glucose, serum insulin and free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations, and visual analogue scales (VAS) were measured prior to commencing the feeding regime and thereafter hourly for 5 h. Thereafter an ad libitum meal was given. The weight (and energy content) of the food consumed, and the time taken to eat lunch were recorded. Following this ad libitum lunch, the same variables were determined again (15, 45, and 75 min post-test meal). RESULTS: When given a SINGLE pre-load, 27% more (t=2.651; P<0.05) energy was consumed in the ad libitum test meal (5261+/-1289 kJ) compared to that eaten after the MULTI pre-load (3763+/-1986 kJ). This increase in food intake occurred despite no significant change in subjective hunger ratings. Over the 315 min pre-load period, peak insulin concentrations were significantly higher (F6,72=7.95, P<0.01) on the SINGLE treatment (171.2+/-129.8 microU ml-1) than on the MULTI treatment (133.7+/-70.2 microU ml-1). Serum insulin remained elevated for longer on the MULTI meal treatment, resulting in no difference in the area under the insulin curves between the two feeding treatments. There was a positive correlation (r=0.87) between the amount of energy consumed at lunch and insulin concentration before lunch in the SINGLE group. However, this relationship was not apparent when subjects were given the MULTI meal preload. CONCLUSION: Obese males fed an isoenergetic pre-load sub-divided into a multi-meal plan consumed 27% less at a subsequent ad libitum test meal than did the same men when given the pre-load as a single meal. Prolonged but attenuated increases in serum insulin concentration on the multi-meal programme may facilitate this acute reduction in appetite.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Regulation of appetite: role of leptin in signalling systems for drive and satiety.

BACKGROUND: The healthy regulation of appetite involves a balance between excitatory (drive) and inhibitory (satiety) processes. For many years research has concentrated on the identification of signalling systems that mediate satiety to the relative exclusion of drive-inducing biological events. However, the so-called long-term regulation of body weight has recently been given substance by the identification of a chemical signal believed to link the brain with adipose tissue stores. ANALYSIS: This signal, leptin, is in position to modulate the expression of a drive to eat. Studies on the relationship between leptin and perceived hunger, and on the eating behaviour of leptin-deficient individuals, are consistent with the intervention of leptin in a drive system. The contrast between the roles of leptin and serotonin in appetite regulation reflects the difference between drive-signalling and satiety signalling processes. CONCLUSION: It is proposed that leptin modulates the drive signals arising from the metabolic demand for energy but also shows some properties of a post-prandial satiety signal.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Effects of long-term acetyl-L-carnitine administration in rats--II: Protection against the disrupting effect of stress on the acquisition of appetitive behavior.

Long-term acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) administration prevents the development of escape deficit produced by acute exposure to unavoidable stress. However, it does not revert the escape deficit sustained by chronic stress exposure. Rats exposed to chronic stress show a low dopamine (DA) output in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcS) and do not acquire an appetitive behavior sustained by the earning of vanilla sugar (VS) made contingent on the choice of one of the two divergent arms of a Y-maze (VS-sustained appetitive behavior, VAB), while control rats consistently do. The present study shows that ALCAR treatment in rats exposed to a 7-day stress protocol prevented a decrease in DA output in the NAcS and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats, and that it strengthened the DA response to VS consummation in the same two areas. Moreover, rats treated with long-term ALCAR or exposed to chronic stress while treated with ALCAR acquired VAB as efficiently as control rats. Moreover, VAB acquisition in stressed rats treated with ALCAR coincided with the reversal of the deficits in escape and in dopaminergic transmission in the NAcS. Thus, repeated ALCAR treatment preserved the DA response to VS in chronically stressed rats and this effect appeared to be predictive of the rat's competence to acquire VAB.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed2005

Effect of short-term cigarette smoke exposure on body weight, appetite and brain neuropeptide Y in mice.

Although nicotinic receptors have been demonstrated in hypothalamic appetite-regulating areas and nicotine administration alters food intake and body weight in both animals and humans, the mechanisms underlying the effects of smoking on appetite circuits remain unclear. Conflicting effects of nicotine on the major orexigenic peptide, neuropeptide Y (NPY), have been observed in the brain, but the effects of smoking are unknown. Thus, we aimed to investigate how cigarette smoking affects body weight, food intake, plasma leptin concentration, hypothalamic NPY peptide, adipose mass and mRNA expression of uncoupling proteins (UCP), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha. Balb/C mice (8 weeks) were exposed to cigarette smoke (three cigarettes, three times a day for 4 consecutive days) or sham exposed. Body weight and food intake were recorded. Plasma leptin and brain NPY were measured by radioimmunoassay. UCPs and TNF alpha mRNA were measured by real-time PCR. Food intake dropped significantly from the first day of smoking, and weight loss became evident within 2 days. Brown fat and retroperitoneal white fat masses were significantly reduced, and plasma leptin concentration was decreased by 34%, in line with the decreased fat mass. NPY concentrations in hypothalamic subregions were similar between two groups. UCP1 mRNA was decreased in white fat and UCP3 mRNA increased in brown fat in smoking group. Short-term cigarette smoke exposure led to reduced body weight, food intake, and fat mass. The reduction in plasma leptin concentration may have been too modest to increase NPY production; alternatively, change in NPY or its function might have been offset by nicotine or other elements in cigarette smoke.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2005

Differential effects of amphetamines-induced neurotoxicity on appetitive and aversive Pavlovian conditioning in mice.

The abuse of substituted amphetamines such as methamphetamine (METH) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/Ecstasy) can result in neurotoxicity, manifested as the depletion of dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytriptamine (5-HT; serotonin) axon terminal markers in humans and animal models. Human METH and MDMA users exhibit impairments in memory and executive functions, which may be a direct consequence of the neurotoxic potential of amphetamines. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of amphetamines-induced neurotoxicity on Pavlovian learning. Using mouse models of selective DA neurotoxicity (METH; 5 mg/kg x 3), selective 5-HT neurotoxicity (fenfluramine /FEN; 25 mg/kg x 4) and dual DA and 5-HT neurotoxicity (MDMA; 15 mg/kg x 4), appetitive and aversive conditioning were investigated. Dopaminergic neurotoxicity significantly impaired METH and cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP), but had no effect on LiCl-induced conditioned place aversion (CPA). In contrast, serotonergic neurotoxicity significantly enhanced CPP, and had no effect on CPA. Dual dopaminergic/serotonergic neurotoxicity had no apparent effect on CPP; however, CPA was significantly attenuated. Postmortem analysis revealed that significantly diminished levels of DA and 5-HT markers persisted in the striatum, frontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. These findings suggest that amphetamines-induced dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotoxicity exert opposing influences on the affective state produced by subsequent drug reward, while dual dopaminergic/serotonergic neurotoxicity impairs associative learning of aversive conditioning. Furthermore, results revealed that amphetamines-induced DA and 5-HT neurotoxicity modulates appetitive Pavlovian conditioning similar to other DA and 5-HT neurotoxins. Modulation of Pavlovian conditioning by amphetamines-induced neurotoxicity may be relevant to compulsive drug-seeking behavior in METH and MDMA abusers.

Amphetamines↗
PubMed2001

Daily variation and appetitive conditioning-induced plasticity of auditory cortex receptive fields.

Long-term modification of cortical receptive field maps follows learning of sensory discriminations and conditioned associations. In the process of determining whether appetitive - as opposed to aversive - conditioning is effective in causing such plastic changes, it was discovered that multineuron receptive fields, when measured in rats under ketamine-sedation, vary substantially over the course of a week, even in the absence of classical conditioning and electrode movement. Specifically, a simple correlation analysis showed that iso-intensity frequency response curves of multiunit clusters and local field potentials recorded from auditory cortex are nonstationary over 7 days. Nevertheless, significant plastic changes in receptive fields, due to conditioned pairing of a pure tone and electrical stimulation of brain reward centres, are detectable above and beyond these spontaneous daily variations. This finding is based on a novel statistical plasticity criterion which compares receptive fields recorded for three days before and three days after conditioning. Based on a more traditional criterion (i.e. one day before and after conditioning), the prevalence of learning-induced changes caused by appetitive conditioning appears to be comparable to that described in previous studies involving aversive conditioning.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2001

Dorsal hippocampal lesions impair appetitive classical conditioning to localized cues.

Three experiments examined appetitive classical conditioning in rats with small electrolytic lesions of the dorsal hippocampus. In all the experiments, the reinforcer was food delivery and the conditioned response (CR) entry to the food tray; the three experiments differed in the nature of the conditioned stimulus (CS). When this was a small light located inside the food tray, conditioning was impaired in lesioned animals, but when the CS was a general increase in illumination, they learned at the same rate as controls. With a white noise as the CS, learning was significantly faster in lesioned subjects. These data demonstrate that lesions of the dorsal hippocampus can produce impairments in appetitive delay conditioning, but only with certain types of CS. It is suggested that deficits are found with CSs that are localized in space.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Megestrol acetate to correct the nutritional status in an adolescent with growth hormone deficiency: Increase of appetite and body weight but only by increase of body water and fat mass followed by profound cortisol and testosterone depletion.

Megestrol acetate (MA) is a synthetic, orally active derivative of the naturally occurring hormone progesterone. MA is increasingly used to correct loss of appetite and improve the nutritional status. We used MA in an adolescent with growth hormone (GH) deficiency due to former irradiation therapy in order to evaluate if MA can improve the nutritional status. In fact, MA increased appetite and weight dose-dependent. The energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry changed from hypo- to normometabolism. However, weight gain was first primarily due to an increase in body water and then in fat mass. The gain of fat mass was much more prominent than the gain of fat free mass. As important side-effect, MA lead to rapid and profound cortisol and testosterone depletion after only 10 days with a long-lasting effect on testosterone depletion. Therefore, MA as a single therapy cannot be recommended to improve the nutritional status. If MA is given, cortisol and testosterone levels have to be monitored and supplemented as needed.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2003

[Appetite regulation by ghrelin - a novel neuro-endocrine gastric peptide hormone in the gut-brain-axis].

Ghrelin a novel peptide consisting of 28 amino acids was first identified in the stomach in 1999. It is mainly produced in endocrine cells of the human gastric mucosa, but it was also found in several other tissues e. g. in the pituitary, the hypothalamus and the pancreas. The functional receptor belongs to the family of the 7-transmembrane G-protein receptors and is predominantly detected in the pituitary and at lower levels in hypothalamic nuclei, the stomach, heart, lungs, kidneys, gut, the adipose and many other tissues. According to the widespread distribution of the peptide and its receptor, ghrelin has multiple biological effects: it stimulates the release of growth hormone in the pituitary and induces a rise in the serum concentration of ACTH, cortisol, catecholamines and prolactin. Ghrelin causes an increase of food intake and body weight by stimulating the production of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AGP) in the nucleus arcuatus. It further leads to elevated concentrations of plasma glucose. A physiological antagonism between ghrelin and GLP-1 in the hypothalamic regulation of appetite is being discussed. The basic serum level of ghrelin depends on the state of nutrition and is negatively correlated with the body-mass-index. It shows a certain pattern of variation before and after food intake with a preprandial increase and a postprandial decrease. Ghrelin modulates gastric acid secretion and the gastrointestinal motility via vagal cholinergic pathways. The discovery of ghrelin definitely contributes to the understanding of the growth-hormone secretion and of the regulation of appetite and food intake.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed2004

Involvement of the sigma1 receptor in the appetitive effects of cocaine.

Cocaine induces in the brain a drastic plasticity affecting numerous neurotransmission systems. In turn, the drug provokes a complex pattern of behavioral responses, including locomotor hyperactivity, stereotyped behaviors, sensitization, and appetitive and reinforcing properties that rapidly generate the addictive process. The involvement of sigma (1) receptors in cocaine effects has been suggested initially through the observation that sigma (1) antagonists could attenuate several acute effects induced by the drug, such as hyperlocomotion, stereotypies, convulsions and lethality. We will describe thereafter the recent results showing that activation of the sigma (1) receptor is also involved in the appetitive properties of cocaine, as measured using place preference conditioning in mice. Using selective sigma (1) antagonists or an in vivo antisense strategy, the role of the sigma (1) receptor in acquisition, expression and reactivation of conditioned place preference was demonstrated. The observation that repeated administration of cocaine rapidly provokes overexpression of the sigma (1) receptor outlines its major role in these first psychological steps of addictive processes. The physiological interaction between cocaine and sigma (1) receptors is detailed and the possibility that effective therapeutical strategies could target the sigma (1) receptor is considered.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A post-tetanic time window for the reinforcement of long-term potentiation by appetitive and aversive stimuli.

Current theories on the encoding and storage of information in the brain commonly suppose that a short-term memory is converted into a lasting one; thus, it becomes consolidated over time. Within a finite period after training, such a short-term memory can be reinforced by behavioral and humoral stimuli. We have found that, long-term potentiation (LTP), a likely candidate for a memory-encoding mechanism at the cellular level, displays similar features. LTP in the dentate gyrus of freely moving rats was reinforced after its induction by appetitive and aversive stimuli. The efficacy of these stimuli terminates about 1 h after tetanization, which may reflect the time constants of the mechanisms underlying the consolidation that takes place. The reinforcement by appetitive and aversive stimulation was blocked by the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol, implicating norepinephrine in the underlying cellular processes.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2004

Different effects of whole milk and a fermented milk with the same fat and lactose content on gastric emptying and postprandial lipaemia, but not on glycaemic response and appetite.

Longitudinal studies indicate that milk and fermented milk products lower basal plasma cholesterol concentrations, despite their high content of saturated fat, and therefore have favourable health effects. However, there have been few studies on the postprandial effects of milk products. The present study compared the effect of whole milk with a fermented milk, A-38, on postprandial carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, gastric emptying and appetite. Eight healthy young men participated. On the two test days, they arrived fasting for collection of baseline values before consuming the meals, which for a 75 kg subject consisted of 1.4 litre milk or fermented milk, plus 165 mg [13C]acetate (for later determination of gastric emptying by a [13C]acetate breath test). Lactose (15 g) was added to the A-38 meal to equalize the lactose content. Postprandially the A-38 meal resulted in a slower gastric emptying rate than milk (P<0.001). Furthermore, the A-38 meal resulted in a greater increase and a quicker decrease of the triacylglycerol content in all lipoprotein fractions (LDL-fraction, P<0.05; other fractions, P<0.001) and of the gastrointestinal hormones (cholecystokinin and peptide YY, P<0.05; gastric inhibitory polypeptide and glucagon-like polypeptide-1, P<0.001). There were no significant differences in appetite sensations (measured by visual analogue scale) or in the glucose and insulin response (P>0.10). The slower emptying rate of the liquid phase after the A-38 meal is probably due to the higher viscosity of A-38. The lower and more prolonged triacylglycerol response after the milk meal might be caused by coagulation of milk in the stomach.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Appetite regulation and seasonality: implications for obesity.

High circulating concentrations of leptin in obesity are associated with an apparent loss of its characteristic anorexic action within the hypothalamic region of the brain. Central insensitivity to leptin may therefore contribute to the aetiology of this disease, and an increased understanding of the underlying mechanisms will identify potential means of prevention and/or therapeutic targets. Seasonal animals such as sheep and Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) exhibit annual photoperiod-driven cycles of appetite and body weight. Increased food intake and weight gain in long days (summer) are associated with high circulating leptin, and decreased intake and weight loss in short days (winter) with low leptin. Critically, these cycles are associated with reversible changes in sensitivity to leptin. High sensitivity is seen in short days and relative insensitivity in long days, demonstrated both in sheep given leptin centrally via intracerebroventricular cannulas and in hamsters given leptin peripherally. In addition, primary hypothalamic appetite-regulating targets for leptin (i.e. neuropeptide Y, melanocortin and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript pathways) respond differently in these species to changes in circulating leptin and nutritional status induced by photoperiod as opposed to such changes induced by food restriction. Studies of seasonal animals will help to resolve causes of altered sensitivity to leptin and whether these changes reflect altered transport into the brain and/or altered signalling at the receptor or post-receptor level. Increased knowledge of the mechanism(s) and time-course for development and reversal of reduced central leptin sensitivity will provide new insights into the development and control of obesity.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on antropyloroduodenal motility and appetite in response to intraduodenal lipid infusion in humans.

BACKGROUND: Studies in animals indicate that endogenous nitric oxide (NO) is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the gastrointestinal tract and that it modulates food intake. We evaluate the role of NO mechanisms in mediating the effects of small intestinal nutrients on antropyloroduodenal motility and appetite in humans. METHODS: On 2 separate days, 8 healthy adult men received intravenous L-NAME 180 microg/kg/h or 0.9% saline (0-150 min); between 30 min and 120 min, an intraduodenal lipid infusion (2 kcal/min) was administered, and at 120 min subjects were offered a buffet meal (120-150 min). Antropyloroduodenal pressures were measured with a sleeve/sidehole manometric assembly. During the infusions, perceptions of hunger and fullness were assessed with visual analog questionnaires and amount and macronutrient content of food consumed at the buffet meal were quantified. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored at regular intervals. RESULTS: Intraduodenal lipid infusion was associated with increases in fullness (P < 0.05) and in frequency of isolated pyloric pressure waves (P < 0.05) and basal pyloric pressure (P < 0.05); and decreases in hunger (P < 0.05) and in frequency of antral (P < 0.05) and duodenal (P < 0.05) pressure waves. L-NAME increased diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.08) and decreased heart rate (P < 0.05), but had no effect on antropyloroduodenal pressures or food intake. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous administration of the systemic NO synthase inhibitor, L-NAME, in a dose that affects cardiovascular function in healthy humans does not modify the antropyloroduodenal motor and appetite responses to intraduodenal lipid infusion.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Subclinical rumen acidosis as a cause of reduced appetite in newly calved dairy cows in Denmark: results of a poll among Danish dairy practitioners.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among Danish dairy practitioners to investigate reduced appetite and its relation to subclinical rumen acidosis in post partum dairy cows. The 115 practitioners who responded provided service to 325,300 cows representing 46% of the national herd. Results are presented and discussed in relation to the practitioners beliefs regarding occurrence and value of the diagnostic methods used and treatments applied. The most common diagnoses believed to occur were ketosis (26%), rumen acidosis (22%) abomasal disorders (16%), subclinical hypocalcaemia (15%) and milk fever (15%). Subclinical rumen acidosis was considered to be a commonly occurring underlying condition with significant importance as a cause of reduced appetite. Inadequate feeding strategies were considered to be a main cause of subclinical rumen acidosis. However, the veterinary practitioners were apparently reluctant to imply checking of feeding mangement in their diagnostic work. Possibel reasons for this are discussed. According to the national dairy health recording system subclinical rumen acidosis was rarely reported as a diagnosis among attended cases. Apparently, signs and manifestations of the condition were unclear to the practitioners. It is proposed that the discrepancy is partly due to a lack of precise diagnostic tools available to veterinary practitioners at present and partly due to a missing examination of farm specific feeding management.

Acidosis↗