Changes in food intake during menstrual cycles and pregnancy of normal and diabetic rhesus monkeys.

Food intake of control and streptozotocin-diabetic rhesus monkeys was measured during menstrual cycles and pregnancy. Intake of control monkeys was lower at the time of ovulation than during other phases of the menstrual cycle. Intake of control monkeys was also low during most of pregnancy, but this was accompanied by normal fetal growth and net maternal weight gain. Diabetic monkeys ate more than controls in all conditions and their intake did not vary reliably according to reproductive status. It is suggested that (1) oestrogen normally inhibits food intake during menstrual cycles and pregnancy, (2) food energy is utilized more efficiently during pregnancy than during non-pregnant states, and (3) the influence of oestrogen on food intake is either attenuated by insulinopenia or is obscured by the hyperphagia typically exhibited by the diabetic monkeys.