This study describes the effect of rimonabant on fat distribution pattern in candy-diet-fed rats. Animals (Wistar rats) were separated into four weight-matched groups (n=16, in each group): Group 1=control chow group, Group 2=control candy-diet group, Group 3=rimonabant candy-diet group (treated orally with 10 mgkg-1 rimonabant during the last 6 weeks), Group 4=pair-fed candy-diet group (matched for the same amount of food as Group 3). Among these four subgroups, the authors measured total body fat, intra-abdominal (visceral) fat, and ectopic lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle and liver with in vivo magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The ad libidum 12-week candy diet resulted in an increase in body weight that was predominantly due to increased total fat mass, principally intra-abdominal fat accumulation. Rimonabant treatment caused an immediate but transient decrease in energy intake and fully reversed the weight gain and fat deposition in the intra-abdominal cavity and skeletal muscle, in contrast to the pair-fed group. These results indicate that factors other than reduced caloric intake, such as increased lipid oxidation, might be responsible for the improvement of lipid parameters.
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