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Objective:The severity of obesity is often more determined by the distribution of fat depots rather than by body weight itself. Therefore, the effect of rimonabant on fat distribution pattern was investigated in female candy-fed Wistar rats.Design:Female Wistar rats were fed a high fat, high carbohydrate (candy-) diet for 12 weeks. During the last 6 weeks rats were treated with rimonabant. Food intake and body weight development were investigated, as well as effects on total body fat, especially visceral fat and ectopic lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle and liver, determined by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance spectroscopy.Results:Candy-diet increased body weight, which was predominantly due to the increased total fat mass with predominance of visceral fat accumulation. Treatment with rimonabant fully reversed the weight gain and fat deposition in the visceral cavity and skeletal muscle, in contrast to pair feeding. In spite of an only transient reduction of food intake, body weight reduction, as well as normalized body fat, reduced visceral fat and intramyocellular lipids were maintained over the treatment period.Conclusions:We conclude that additional factors other than reduced caloric intake must be responsible for the improvements in these lipid parameters. The complete cluster of results is consistent with increased lipid oxidation caused by rimonabant.International Journal of Obesity (2008) 32, 1363–1372; doi:10.1038/ijo.2008.105; published online 15 July 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]