Long-term effects of altered functional demands induced by diet consistency throughout growth on adult rat masticatory muscle fibres

Following soft-diet feeding, the masseter muscle was composed of less fast, fatigue-resistant fibre types (less IIA and more IIX). No such fibre-type distribution differences were observed in the digastric muscle, although some fibre types were larger in soft-diet-fed animals. These results indicate an adaptive response to reduced masticatory loading.