Effect of short-term prefeeding and body weight on wheel running and responding reinforced by the opportunity to run in a wheel.

A biobehavioural analysis of activity anorexia suggests that the motivation for physical activity is regulated by food supply and body weight. In the present experiment, food allocation was varied within subjects by prefeeding food-deprived rats 0, 5, 10 and 15 g of food before sessions of lever pressing for wheel-running reinforcement. The experiment assessed the effects of prefeeding on rates of wheel running, lever pressing, and postreinforcement pausing. Results showed that prefeeding animals 5 g of food had no effect. Prefeeding 10 g of food reduced lever pressing for wheel running and rates of wheel running without a significant change in body weight; the effect was, however, transitory. Prefeeding 15 g of food increased the animals' body weights, resulting in a sustained decrease of wheel running and lever pressing, and an increase in postreinforcement pausing. Overall the results indicate that the motivation for physical activity is regulated by changes in local food supply, but is sustained only when there is a concomitant change in body weight.