The impact of subchronic hypercaloric and restriction diets on sexual behavior, serum testosterone, and prostate histology in rats

The role of diet in health is crucial, with calorie intake playing a significant role. Hypercaloric diets (HD) often lead to adipose tissue accumulation and increased risk of chronic diseases, including reproductive impairments. By contrast, restriction diets (RD) help with weight loss, improve cardiovascular function, and ameliorate reproduction. Herein we sought to investigate the impact of subchronic HD and RD on body weight, sexual behavior, serum testosterone and prostate histology in rats. Hence, 10-week old male rats gained sexual experience during five trials with ovariectomized, hormone-primed females. Then at postnatal week PW15 the males were organized in three groups, depending on the feeding they received until PW18: HD, RD and standard diet (SD). During PW19-22 they were tested for sexual behavior, and at PW23 were euthanized for prostate histology (hematoxylin & eosin stain) and hormone analysis. Results indicated that HD males increased their body weight (16-23%) compared to SD and RD. Furthermore, HD males showed 65% less testosterone than RD males. The prostate of HD males revealed histological alterations, including a notable increase in epithelium height and other abnormal features, while no changes were observed in the performance of sexual behavior between HD and RD, although HD appeared to facilitate ejaculation when compared to SD. The histological features of RD males were comparable to SD males. Accordingly, we argue that subchronic modifications in calorie intake can alter body weight (in HD), serum testosterone levels (HD and RD in opposite directions), and prostate histology (in HD), while having no immediate effect on male sexual behavior.