Obesity is considered one of the most common forms of malnutrition occurring in dogs. Laboratory methods of evaluation of body composition in live dogs have included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and deuterium oxide (D2O) dilution. Clinical methods of evaluation include assigning a body condition score (BCS) based on visual observation, palpation, and morphometric measurements. This study used these four methods to evaluate 23 healthy, adult, client-owned dogs. Good correlation (coefficient of determination [r2]=0.78) was found between measurements of percent body fat (%BF) determined by the D2O dilution method and the DEXA scan. Percent body fat can also be estimated using BCS (r2=0.92 comparison with DEXA) or by using morphometric measurements with simple calculations (r2=0.92 comparison with DEXA).
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March/April 2004
Internal Medicine|
March 01 2004
Comparison of Various Methods for Estimating Body Fat in Dogs
Dianne I. Mawby, DVM, MVSc, Diplomate ACVIM;
Dianne I. Mawby, DVM, MVSc, Diplomate ACVIM
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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Joseph W. Bartges, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM, Diplomate ACVN;
Joseph W. Bartges, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM, Diplomate ACVN
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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Andre d’Avignon, PhD;
Andre d’Avignon, PhD
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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Dorothy P. Laflamme, DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVN;
Dorothy P. Laflamme, DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVN
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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Tamberlyn D. Moyers, LVT;
Tamberlyn D. Moyers, LVT
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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Tamorah Cottrell, DVM
Tamorah Cottrell, DVM
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (Mawby, Bartges, Moyers, Cottrell), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4544; the Chemistry Department (d’Avignon), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company (Laflamme), Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164
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J Am Anim Hosp Assoc (2004) 40 (2): 109–114.
Citation
Dianne I. Mawby, Joseph W. Bartges, Andre d’Avignon, Dorothy P. Laflamme, Tamberlyn D. Moyers, Tamorah Cottrell; Comparison of Various Methods for Estimating Body Fat in Dogs. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 1 March 2004; 40 (2): 109–114. doi: https://doi.org/10.5326/0400109
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