ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The effects of a cafeteria diet on the small intestine were investigated in adult Wistar rats under sedentary conditions and after physical training. METHODS: Parameters including morphometry, enzyme activities, and total myenteric populations in the jejunum were evaluated. RESULTS: The cafeteria diet, characterized as hyperlipidic, produced obese rats, corroborated by increases in the Lee index and the weights of the periepididymal and retroperitoneal adipose tissues (P<0.01). Obesity caused increases in the length of the small intestine, villi height, crypt depth, whole-wall thickness (P<0.05), and the enzymatic activities of alkaline phosphatase, lipase, and sucrase (P<0.01), in addition to a reduction in the number of goblet cells (P<0.05). With reference to the jejunal intrinsic innervations, the total number and area of myenteric neurons was unchanged regardless of the group. Physical training promoted 1) a reduction of the weight in the retroperitoneal and periepididymal adipose tissues (P<0.05) and 2) an increase in the thickness of the muscular layer (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The cafeteria diet promoted obesity in rodents, leading to alterations in morphometry and enzymatic intestinal parameters, which were partily attenuated by physical training.
