PURPOSE: Due to the progressive increasing in the use of gasified drinks and weight gain in the Brazilian population, in addition to the fact that carbonic gas is present in all soft drinks, an experimental study was conducted using rats as the subject to investigate the effects of gasified water in the hydric ingestion and food intake, weight gain, gastric area, blood sugar, hematocrit, and hemoglobin. METHODS: Four groups of 12 rats were studied for 36 days while receiving the following daily diet, four times per day: Group 1 - 35g/day of rat food "ad libitum" and 20ml of non-gasified water; Group 2 - 35g/day of rat food "ad libitum" and 20 ml of gasified water; Group 3 - 10g/day of rat food "ad libitum" and 20ml of non-gasified water; and Group 4 - 10g/day of rat food "ad libitum" and 20ml of gasified water. RESULTS: The results showed that the animals submitted to the treatment with gasified water (Groups 2 and 4), presented a larger volume of hydric ingestion and significant increase of the gastric area (p<0,001). In group 2, the food intake and the weight gain were significant (p<0,01). Blood sugar, hematocrit and hemoglobin data didn't show significant alterations among the studied groups. CONCLUSION: The authors of this study concluded that gasified water favored the hydric ingestion, food intake, and weight gain, as well as expanded the gastric area.
Weight gain; Gasified water; Carbonic gas; Gastric area
