Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Indoor confinement and inactivity raise risk of type 2 diabetes
By Slingerland, L I et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2009·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Indoor confinement and physical inactivity rather than the proportion of dry food are risk factors in the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that indoor cats are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to a lack of physical activity and being kept indoors, rather than the amount of dry food they eat. Researchers looked at 96 cats with diabetes and compared them to 192 healthy cats, finding that those who were less active and confined indoors were more likely to develop the condition. This suggests that encouraging outdoor play and exercise may help reduce the risk of diabetes in cats.
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Abstract
With domestication and urbanisation, cats have transformed from being hunting animals that eat protein-rich prey into more sedentary animals that eat a carbohydrate-rich diet. It was hypothesised that a high intake of dry cat food and a lack of physical activity may play a role in the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus. Information on dietary history and physical activity of 96 cats with diabetes mellitus and 192 matched controls was collected retrospectively, using a telephone questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between questionnaire-derived variables and the development of diabetes mellitus. The energy percentage of dry food in the diet was not significantly correlated with the development of diabetes mellitus (P=0.29), whereas both indoor confinement (P=0.002) and low physical activity (P=0.004) were. The results indicated that the proportion of dry food in a cat's diet may not be an independent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas physical inactivity and indoor confinement are.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17964833/