Nutrition classics from The Journal of Biological Chemistry 82:345-67, 1929. A new deficiency disease produced by the rigid exclusion of fat from the diet.

The present paper is the first of a series which the authors expect to offer on the more general subject of the effects of fat in the diet. This paper will be limited to the following topics: experimental methods; description of the new disease; comparative growth and ovulation with and without fat; curing the disease; discussion, and summary. It is believed that the data presented here definitely settle the uncertainty as to the necessity for fats in the diet (of the rat), and prove not only that ingested fats have a beneficial effect upon the animal but that under the experimental conditions outlined in this paper they are essential constituents of the diet. When dietary fats are reduced below a certain minimum, the rat develops a characteristic disease and dies at an early age.