Abstract

Eating behavior is essential to human health. However, whether future eating behavior is subjected to the conditioning of precedent dietary composition is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary fiber consumption on subsequent nutrient-specific food preference between palatable high-fat and high-sugar diets and explore its correlation with the gut microbiota. Specific pathogen-free mice were subjected to a dietary intervention and fed either a control or an inulin diet. Afterwards, all mice were subjected to an eating behavioral test to self-select a high-fat or a high-sugar diet. The test diet feed intakes were recorded and the mice’s fecal samples were analyzed to evaluate the gut microbiota composition. The inulin mice exhibited a preference for a high-fat diet over a high-sugar diet, associated with distinct gut microbiota compositions profiles between the inulin and control mice. Further studies involving fecal microbiota transplantation and eating behavior-related neurotransmitter analyses will clarify the role of gut microbiota on food preference. Food preference induced by conditioning of the gut microbiota via dietary intervention is a novel observation.