A preliminary report on the feeding of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) with a high-sugar high-fat diet for 33 weeks.

BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome is common in populations exposed to a typical Western diet. There is a lack of an animal model that mimics this condition.METHODS: We fed 15 cynomolgus monkeys ad libitum a high-sugar high-fat (HSHF) diet for 33 weeks. Body weight, body composition, serum lipids, and insulin were measured at baseline and at 33 weeks.RESULTS: The animals tolerated the HSHF diet very well. In the intervention group, total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were 3- and 5-fold higher, respectively, at 33 weeks as compared with their baseline levels. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides were not significantly affected. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) analysis of the intervention group indicated that the trunk fat mass increased by 187% during this period.CONCLUSIONS: Cynomolgus monkeys should be a useful model for investigating the interactions of diet and other factors such as genetics in the development of the metabolic syndrome.