Comparison of Changes in Obesity-Related Factors in C57BL/6N Mice Induced by High-Fat Diet or High-Fat Diet with Fructose Water

The effects of an 8-week high-fat diet (HFD) were investigated in 6-week-old mice by comparing the changes in obesity-related factors induced by an HFD-only diet with that induced by HFD and fructose water (HFD+FW). The final body weight, body weight gain, and liver weight of the HFD+FW group were significantly higher than those of the HFD group. Liver hypertrophy was observed both visually and quantitatively using the liver index, which represents the liver weight relative to the body weight. Serum analysis revealed that lipid parameters, hepatotoxic enzymes, and glycemic control markers were higher in the HFD+FW group than in the HFD group. Oil Red O staining indicated that the most significant hepatic fat accumulation occurred in the HFD+FW group. These results suggest that the HFD+FW diet not only induced obesity more effectively, but also led to increased insulin resistance and fasting blood glucose levels, as evidenced by elevated HOMA-IR. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that obesity was more easily induced in the HFD+FW group than in the HFD group, indicating that a diet consisting of high fat and sugar results in a higher incidence of lipid metabolism disorders and increased risk of conditions such as diabetes. These findings highlight the dangers of high-calorie foods and fructose-containing beverages and provide valuable insights for selecting animal models of obesity and lipid metabolism disorders.