Abstract
Accumulated visceral and subcutaneous fat masses were measured with computed tomography (CT) in cats with various body condition scores (BCS) from 5/9 to 9/9. BCS does not always reflect visceral fat accumulation which induces pro-inflammatory reactions. Obese cats with accumulated visceral fat showed low plasma adiponectin and high serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations, an inflammatory marker. Based on the above results, new diagnostic criteria for obesity disease were established as follows. For overweight cats with high BCS of >7/9, showing two or more of the following three symptoms, low adiponectin concentrations, hyperlipidemia, and high SAA concentrations, categorizes them as having obesity disease. Cats with BCS 6/9–9/9, without inflammatory reactions, were classified as simple obesity, which is similar to metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) defined in human medicine. Simple obesity group showed significantly higher adiponectin concentrations than those in control group. The obesity disease group showed significantly higher plasma triglyceride (TG) and SAA concentrations and lower concentrations of adiponectin than the control group. Moreover, plasma glucose and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in the obesity disease group were higher than those in healthy control group, although the differences were not statistically significant. Establishing criteria for obesity disease based on visceral fat accumulation and inflammation markers levels contributes to early and correct diagnosis of obesity in cats.
Highlights
Obesity is a serious public health concern all over the world
Obesity disease may be diagnosed if overweight cats with body condition scores (BCS) >7/9 show two or more of the following, low adiponectin ( 165 mg/100 mL) and high serum amyloid A (SAA) values (>200 ng/mL)
We proved that being overweight is not always pathological in cats
Summary
Obesity is a serious public health concern all over the world. According to a report form World Health Organization (WHO), it was estimated that over 1.9 billion human adults (39%) worldwide were overweight, of which more than 650 million (∼13%), were obese in 2016 [1]. Prevalence of obesity in dogs and cats has increased accompanying with aging in these years as in humans [2, 3]. Cats are prone to become obese compared to dogs owing to their unique characteristics in glucose and lipid metabolism [4, 5]. Obesity is classified into two types, without and with health issues [7]. Visceral fat accumulation causes insulin resistance and is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and some types of cancer [10, 11], and overweight and obesity are usually associated with shorter lifespan [12, 13].
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