How you can help your dog lose weight and live a longer life
Lean Dogs Live Longer
By: Erin Harty
Lucky dogs.
They’re not bound by the social constraints we humans must endure. They
can belch and fart whenever they please. They can take a bath (with their
tongues, no less) in public. And certainly, no one begrudges a beloved pooch a
few extra pounds around the middle. Why, it just wouldn’t be a dog’s life
if you weren’t able to enjoy a few extra calories every now and then, would
it?
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Obesity is considered the number one nutritional problem in dogs, and
studies have documented that at least 25 percent of dogs in the United States
may be overweight.
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The scientists who conducted a just-released study would beg to differ. As
it turns out, a dog’s life can actually be extended if he’s kept on a
strict diet and not allowed to indulge too much in the dog food department.
The first-ever lifelong canine diet restriction study, sponsored by Nestle
Purina Pet Care, followed a group of Labrador retrievers for 14 years, from
birth until death. The researchers found that a dog’s median life span can
be extended by 15 percent—nearly two years for the Labs in the study—by
restricting the diet to maintain ideal body condition.
Forty-eight 8-week-old puppies from seven different litters were tracked in
the studies. Puppies were paired within their litters according to gender and
body weight, and then each puppy was randomly assigned to either a control
group or a restricted-diet group.
All dogs were fed the same nutritionally complete and balanced diets
appropriate for their age group, but those in the control group were allowed
free access to food during 15-minute daily feedings. Dogs in the other group
were fed 75 percent of what their paired littermates in the control group ate.
The dogs were weighed on a regular basis throughout the study, and
beginning at age 6, their body condition was evaluated. Other healthy
indicators—including body fat mass, lean body mass, bone mass and glucose,
glucose and insulin use, and cholesterol and triglyceride levels— were also
measured annually.
What researchers found isn’t really a surprise— veterinarians
have stressed for years (often in vain) that owners need to keep their dogs
lean and trim.
Obesity is considered the number one nutritional problem in dogs, and
studies have documented that at least 25 percent of dogs in the United States
may be overweight.
The study’s rather dramatic results, published in the May 1 issue of the
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, may lend more weight
to veterinarians’ arguments, and help convince owners that they may, in
fact, be killing Fido with kindness.
To put it succinctly—lean dogs live longer. The median life span (the age at
which 50 percent of the dogs in the group died) of those in the lean-fed group
was about 15 percent, or nearly two years, longer than that of the control
group, researchers discovered.
Dogs in the restricted-diet group lived to a median age of 13 years, and 25
percent of the group survived to 13.5 years. Dogs in the control group only
lived to a median age of 11.2 years, and none of the dogs lived to 13.5 years.
Only three lean-fed dogs had died by age 10, compared to seven control
dogs. After 12 years, only one control group dog was alive, versus 11 lean-fed
dogs.
"We all know that obesity, whether human or canine, is bad for
health—that’s not new news," said Dennis Lawler, DVM, in a press
release. Dr. Lawler, along with principal investigator Richard Kealy, Ph.D.,
led the study.
"What’s exciting about this study is that, for the first time in a
larger mammal, we proved that eating less resulted in longer life. That’s
powerful stuff," said Dr. Lawler.
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Only three lean-fed dogs had died by age 10, compared to seven control
dogs.
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The study also showed that, from 6 to 12 years of age, the dogs on
restricted diets maintained a significantly leaner body condition and, on
average, weighed less, had lower body fat, and lost lean body mass later than
the control group dogs as they aged. The researchers also observed that
control dogs showed more visible signs of aging— like graying muzzles,
stiffened gaits, and reduced activity— at an earlier age than the lean-fed
dogs.
In addition to the veterinary ramifications, the study may well provide
information valuable for human health.
"This study is significant for human as well as canine health because
it’s the first study completed in a larger mammal that proves the
significant power that diet restriction wields in extending life and delaying
the markers of aging," said Richard Weindruch, Ph.D., professor of
medicine at the University of Wisconsin, in a Purina press release. "From
this study, we can extrapolate that large mammals, including humans, can
potentially live longer and healthier through diet restriction."
Easy to Read
Chart on whether your dog is fat or not
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