Abstract
BackgroundThe risks during early growth on becoming overweight in adulthood are widely studied in humans. However, early-life predictive factors for canine adult overweight and obesity have not yet been studied.To identify factors that may help explain the development of overweight and obesity at adulthood in dogs, a longitudinal study of 2 years was conducted in 24 female Beagle dogs of the same age, sexual status, and raised under identical environmental conditions. By means of a hierarchical classification on principal components with the following quantitative values: fat-free mass (FFM), percentage fat mass and pelvic circumference at 2 years of age, three groups of dogs were established and were nominally named: ideal weight (IW, n = 9), slightly overweight (OW1, n = 6) and overweight (OW2, n = 9). With the aim of identifying predictive factors of development of obesity at adulthood parental characteristics, growth pattern, energy balance and plasma factors were analysed by logistic regression analysis.ResultsAt 24 months, the group compositions were in line with the body condition scores (BCS 1–9) values of the IW (5 or 6/9), the OW1 (6/9) and the OW2 (7 or 8/9) groups. Logistic regression analysis permitted the identification of neonatal growth rate during the first 2 weeks of life (GR2W) and BCS at 7 months as predictors for the development of obesity at adulthood. Seventy percent of dogs with either GR2W >125% or with BCS > 6/9 at 7 months belonged to the OW2 group. Results from energy intake and expenditure, corrected for FFM, showed that there was a greater positive energy imbalance between 7 and 10 months for the OW2, compared to the IW group.ConclusionThis study expands the understanding of previously reported risk factors for being overweight or obese in dogs, establishing that (i) 15 out of 24 of the studied dogs became overweight and (ii) GR2W and BCS at 7 months of age could be used as predictive factors as overweight adult dogs in the OW2 group had higher values compared the other groups of dogs.
Highlights
The risks during early growth on becoming overweight in adulthood are widely studied in humans
Constitution of three groups based on biometric data at 24 months of age In order to categorize dogs according to their status of fatness, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on FM%, fat-free mass (FFM) and pelvic circumference (PC) at 24 month of age
The OW2 group had significantly higher values of body weight (BW), height to withers, FFM, FM% and PC compared to the OW1 group (p < 0.001, p = 0.003, p < 0.001, p = 0.02, p < 0.001, respectively)
Summary
The risks during early growth on becoming overweight in adulthood are widely studied in humans. Obesity in dogs is associated with decreased quality of life and lifespan [5, 6], as well as with numerous chronic disorders such as osteoarthritis and cardiorespiratory diseases [4]. Some of those obesityrelated outcomes can be reversed by restricted energy intake and by increased activity through a weight-loss program [7]. In the case of obesity in adulthood, both human and animal studies have reported a dysregulation of plasma biomarkers that are directly or indirectly associated with the regulation of energy homeostasis. Obesity in dogs results in low-grade systemic inflammation which may contribute to the development of metabolic disorders [7]
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