Despite epidemiological evidence1,2, the physiological impact of temporal feeding patterns remains a major unanswered question3,4. To address this, we have used a CLAMS-based feeding station to demonstrate that the alignment of acute food preference with base diet in meal-fed rats is abolished in grazing animals5. We have now modified our feeding station to test the hypothesis that grazing influences long-term food choice. Bespoke food hoppers were used to supply low- (LFD; Special Diet Services (SDS) 10% AFE fat) and high-fat diet (HFD; SDS 45% AFE fat) to male Sprague-Dawley rats (4-weeks old; Charles River, UK) in either ad libitum (AL; n=9), grazing (GR; provided 1/24th of the total daily intake of AL-fed rats every 30 mins during the dark phase; n=5) or meal-fed (MF; three 1h periods of AL feeding at 18:00h, 23:30h and 05:00h; n=6) patterns for 6 weeks, with water available AL in a 12h light:12h dark cycle (lights on 06:00h). Body weight and food intake was monitored daily (at 09:00h) and a range of metabolically active tissues dissected and weighed post-mortem. Data presented are mean ± SEM with statistical comparisons performed by 1-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test (between groups) and paired Student’s t-test (within groups). As shown with single diets, total cumulative food intake in GR and MF rats was 23% lower than in AL-fed rats (P<0.0001). While mean cumulative LFD intake (cLFDi) in GR and MF rats was 67% and 70% of that in AL rats, neither cLFDi nor cumulative HFD consumption were significantly altered (P>0.1). Although neither GR nor MF affected cumulative LFD/HFD preference, GR rats favoured HFD (P<0.05) on 15 out of 42 days in a clear phasic pattern. In contrast, MF rats showed significant preference for either HFD or LFD for one day, while AL rats showed a higher preference for LFD for the first 2 days. Despite GR and MF rats showing a 22% reduction in total cumulative caloric intake (P<0.001), there were no concomitant reductions in body weight gain or any of the measures of skeletal growth (nose-anus length, tibial and femoral lengths) in GR and MF rats. Although epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT) weight was not significantly increased, fat storage efficiency in GR and MF rats was elevated by 47% and 62% respectively (P<0.01). Broadly similar results were obtained for inguinal and retroperitoneal WAT and interscapular brown AT. Thus, grazing not only abolishes the alignment between base diet and acute food preference seen in MF rats5, but induces periods of phasic preference for HFD when continuously exposed to a choice between LFD and HFD. The mechanisms linking these feeding patterns with food preference and growth outcomes remain to be determined. Our study suggests that when combined with dietary choice, contemporary changes in feeding pattern2 may contribute to consumption of energy-dense diets.