Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How time-limited feeding and carbs affect weight loss in cats
By Michel, Kathryn E et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2005·Department of Clinical Studies - Philadelphia, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Impact of time-limited feeding and dietary carbohydrate content on weight loss in group-housed cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 24 adult cats was put on a time-limited feeding schedule to see how different diets affected their weight. Some cats ate a low carbohydrate diet while others had a reduced energy diet. Over 13 weeks, only the overweight cats on the reduced energy diet lost weight, while those on the low carbohydrate diet did not lose any. When all cats switched to the low carbohydrate diet for another 12 weeks, the overweight cats lost weight, but the normal weight cats gained weight. This shows that how much food they eat matters more than the type of diet when it comes to weight loss in cats.
People also search for: cat weight loss diet · why is my cat gaining weight · low carbohydrate diet for cats
Abstract
Twenty-four adult cats were transitioned to time-limited feeding and randomized to either a dry low carbohydrate diet (LC) or a dry reduced energy diet (HC). In Trial 1 the LC and HC groups received equal amounts of food (by weight) for 13 weeks. Both groups consumed all food offered, hence the LC group received more energy/day than the HC group. In Trial 2 all cats were fed the LC diet for 12 weeks, but each group received the energy that the opposite group had received in Trial 1. In Trial 1 only the overweight HC cats (body condition score> 6/9) experienced a significant change in body weight (-0.52 +/- 0.08 kg). In Trial 2, LC/Low Calorie overweight cats lost 0.62 +/- 0.10 kg, whereas, the LC/High Calorie normal weight cats gained 0.68 +/- 0.05 kg. In conclusion, body condition and energy intake but not type of diet influenced weight in this cohort of group-housed cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15978857/