Rat models of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes

Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes continue to be a scourge of modern society, despite much research and developed therapies. Research in these areas is ongoing, and in this review we discuss models of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes in the rat. There are many experimental and genetic ways to achieve these conditions, and these states can be either experimentally induced or spontaneously developed. Here we cover the various ways in which these disease states are achieved, and experimental uses of these disease models. The goal is to provide a practical and scientific resource for the experimenter who aims to study these disease states. First, we describe dietary methods to induce obesity, as well as sleep deprivation and physical activity models that lead to obesity. Next, aspects and models of metabolic syndrome are presented. Finally, models and caveats to the study of diabetes rat models are described.