Study shows special diet can help dogs lose weight and support joint health

Photo: Mary Swift/Adobe Stock

Obesity poses a serious threat to pets—dogs who are overweight have a shorter lifespan compared to their leaner counterparts.¹ Yet, more than 50% of dogs in the United States are overweight and/or obese. Simply cutting back on feeding portions rather than giving these canines food intended for weight loss is rarely successful in the long term, according to the authors of a recent study that was presented during a poster session at the 2024 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Convention in Austin, Texas.²

The study compared canine food with a combination of ingredients intended to promote weight loss to dog food that did was not formulated for weight loss. The study revealed that participating canines achieved more weight loss on this combination food than on food not formulated to support weight loss.²

At the convention, Kristen M Carnagey, PhD, senior nutrition scientist at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and coauthor of the study, presented the study’s findings. The research focused on the efficacy of a combination food designed to support weight loss in overweight or obese dogs with osteoarthritis. The objective of the study was to compare the weight loss of dogs fed Hill's Prescription Diet Metabolic + Mobility (HPDMM) to those fed an adult dog food fortified with vitamins and minerals. The weight loss success of both foods was assessed in a 12-week randomized blind feeding study.

To do this, 66 canine patients of the same age and gender, and similar weight and Body Fat Index (BFI) categories were brought to a clinic for a baseline measure. After these dogs’ weight and BFI were assessed, they were randomly assigned to either a test or control group.

Owners received feeding recommendations to promote the gradual and steady weight loss of their participating dogs. Moreover, feeding recommendation charts were created based on the analytical data of the foods and the participants’ weight. The foods and treatment codes were not disclosed to veterinarians nor technicians.

Along with the prescribed food, participants also received 20 minutes of daily exercise. Evaluations were conducted on day 42 and day 84. At the day 42 check-up, veterinarians had the opportunity to modify the feeding recommendations for dogs that were not losing weight as expected.
“Both foods were well accepted by dogs. We didn't have any problems with consumptions. Both dogs ate both foods exactly as we wanted them to, and also both foods were acceptable to owners,” said Carnagey during her presentation.² “Owners did notice that the Metabolic + Mobility smelled a little bit stronger, but [the dogs] didn't find that aroma to be off putting.”

Results

Canines who received HPDMM saw a significant decrease by at least 10% in their BFI, according to Carnagey. Moreover, dogs fed HPDMM lost 2.8 times as much weight as those fed PDC in 12 weeks.

“That weight loss was statistically different…and it continued on,” emphasized Carnagey.² “That part is important because we really didn't reduce the feeding amounts by that much. We're talking around a 1 to a 1.1 times RER [resting energy requirement] from their actual body weight. So we didn't even convert to ideal body weights on these dogs… and we still generated almost 3 times more weight loss for the [HPDMM] group.”

“Dogs were able to achieve and maintain controlled weight loss throughout the duration of study, and we did that without significantly…reducing feeding amounts,” Carnagey explained. “You know, sometimes when you go to help dogs lose weight, you might cut…like 70% of what they might be eating, but we were able to achieve weight loss with only 1.1 times RER.”

References

1. Weir M, Williams K, Downing Robin. Obesity in dogs. VCA Animal Hospitals. Accessed August 13, 2024. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/obesity-in-dogs
2. Carnagey KM. Combination food formulated to support weight loss and joint health in overweight or obese dogs with osteoarthritis. Presented at: American Veterinary Medical Association Convention; Austin, TX: June 20-25, 2024.