COMPARISON OF HIGH FIBER AND LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIETS ON OWNER-PERCEIVED SATIETY OF CATS DURING WEIGHT LOSS

Ahmed Ahmed

doi:10.3844/ajavsp.2012.218.225

Abstract

Food-seeking behaviors exhibited by cats during weight loss programs are frustrating to owners. Two categories of therapeutic weight loss diets are available for cats: High Fiber (HF) and Low Carbohydrate (LC). The objective of this study was to determine if cat owners perceive a difference in satiety when their cats are fed either a HF or LC diet during a weight loss regimen. Twenty-eight client-owned cats were randomly assigned to either an HF or LC canned diet and fed to 80% of their ideal weight resting energy requirements. Cats were rechecked at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks and food intake adjusted to maintain weight loss between 0.5-1% per week. Seventeen cats completed the 8-week weight loss study (HF = 10, LC = 7). Owners completed behavior questionnaires at each visit and were blinded to food assignments. The two diet groups did not differ significantly by age, sex, body condition score, caloric intake, or rate of weight loss during the study. The two diets did not differ by owner response to questionnaire. In conclusion, owners perceived cats to be equally satiated during weight loss regimens on both the HF and LC diets.

Highlights

The onset of hunger and can reduce the consumption of food at the meal (Gerstein et al, 2004)
Two categories of therapeutic weight loss diets are available for cats: High Fiber (HF) and Low Carbohydrate (LC)
The objective of this study was to determine if cat owners perceive a difference in satiety when their cats are fed either a HF or LC diet during a weight loss regimen

Summary

Introduction

The onset of hunger and can reduce the consumption of food at the meal (Gerstein et al, 2004). Another study in dogs found that the addition of either soluble or insoluble fiber to a diet formulated for weight loss had no beneficial effect on satiety, as measured by a challenge meal and or the perception of hunger as represented by behavioral characteristics (Butterwick and Markwell, 1997). Another study found that dogs fed a diet both high in protein and fiber were more satiated than dogs fed either protein or fiber alone, as measured by voluntary food intake during an energy-restricted meal (Weber et al, 2008) These results suggest that with the addition of high protein, a high fiber diet may retain its satiating effects in dogs. The dogs consuming the highly fermentable fiber diet had a lower voluntary food intake at the end of the study, but there were no differences in satiety-related metabolites between the two groups, suggesting that the mechanism for satiety related to the highly fermentable fiber is unknown

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Discussion

Conclusion