Restricted Feeding Intervention
Objective: To examine whether restricting food consumption to the active phase prevents body mass gain in dim light mice, and to determine if timing of food intake is responsible for increased body mass under light at night conditions
This is a Restricted Feeding Intervention protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 6 equipment items. Extracted from a 2010 paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Model and subjects
mouse • Not specified • male • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Housing assignment and light condition establishment • Baseline measurements • Monitor food consumption timing
Primary readouts
- Body mass gain
- Glucose tolerance
- Timing of food consumption (percentage consumed during light vs. dark phase)
- Total daily caloric intake
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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Protocol Steps
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Housing assignment and light condition establishment
Assign male mice to three housing conditions: bright light at night (LL), dim light at night (DM), or standard light/dark cycle (LD) control
Note: Three experimental groups with different light conditions
View evidence from paper
“Mice housed in either bright (LL) or dim (DM) LAN have significantly increased body mass and reduced glucose tolerance compared with mice in a standard (LD) light/dark cycle”
Baseline measurements
Measure initial body mass, caloric intake, daily activity output, and glucose tolerance in all three housing conditions
Note: Establish baseline metabolic parameters before intervention
View evidence from paper
“despite equivalent levels of caloric intake and total daily activity output”
Monitor food consumption timing
Track the timing of food intake in DM and LL mice compared to LD control mice to establish baseline consumption patterns
Note: DM mice consume 55.5% of food during light phase versus 36.5% in LD mice
View evidence from paper
“DM mice consume 55.5% of their food during the light phase, as compared with 36.5% in LD mice”
Implement food restriction to active phase
Restrict food consumption to the active phase (night) in DM mice by controlling food availability
Note: Food is made available only during the active (nocturnal) phase for DM mice
View evidence from paper
“Restricting food consumption to the active phase in DM mice prevents body mass gain”
Monitor body mass during intervention
Measure body mass gain in DM mice with restricted feeding compared to unrestricted DM and LD control mice
Note: Primary outcome measure is prevention of body mass gain
View evidence from paper
“Restricting food consumption to the active phase in DM mice prevents body mass gain”
Measure metabolic parameters post-intervention
Assess glucose tolerance and other metabolic markers in food-restricted DM mice compared to unrestricted groups
Note: Determine if timing of food intake affects metabolic outcomes
View evidence from paper
“low levels of light at night disrupt the timing of food intake and other metabolic signals, leading to excess weight gain”