Obesity is a growing concern for pet dogs, impacting both health and quality of life. Managing weight effectively requires precise monitoring of energy expenditure (EE) during dietary interventions. In this study, Marcussen et al. (2023) tested the oral 13C-bicarbonate technique (o13CBT) as a research tool for tracking EE in 16 overweight pet dogs placed on controlled weight-loss programs.
The trial compared two diet types: a low-fat, high-fiber (LFHFibre) diet and a high-fat, carbohydrate-free (HFat) diet. Over 16 weeks, dogs on the LFHFibre diet lost weight more quickly (1.1% of body weight per week) compared to those on the HFat diet (0.8% per week). However, both groups achieved similar total body weight reductions by the end of the study (14.6% vs. 12.0%).
Interestingly, resting EE decreased significantly across the trial, from 414 kJ/kg0.75/day (99 kcal) at the start to 326 kJ/kg0.75/day (78 kcal) at week 16. The weight loss involved reductions in both fat mass and fat-free mass, yet EE per unit of fat-free mass remained stable. Neither diet type nor weight loss significantly affected levels of metabolic hormones such as insulin, leptin, or ghrelin.
The study highlights that while diet composition influenced the pace of weight loss, long-term success may depend more on duration and monitoring. The o13CBT proved to be a reliable short-term tool for measuring EE, but the authors note that larger and longer trials are needed since many dogs were still overweight at the study’s conclusion.
These findings emphasize the importance of careful diet planning and energy monitoring in managing canine obesity, providing veterinarians and owners with potential new strategies for guiding dogs toward healthier body weights.
Source: Marcussen, C., Andersen, A., Dietrich, N., Blache, D., Theil, P., Biourge, V., & Tauson, A. (2023). The 13C-bicarbonate technique as a tool for measurement of energy expenditure in overweight dogs undergoing body weight reduction, and the effect of different dietary composition. Journal of Animal Science.
