Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Weight loss improves breathing and blood oxygen in obese dogs
By Pereira-Neto, Gláucia B et al.·Published in Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition·2018·College of Agricultural and Veterinary Medicine, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Weight loss improves arterial blood gases and respiratory parameters in obese dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of obese dogs was studied to see how losing weight would affect their breathing. The dogs lost 20% of their body weight through a controlled diet, and researchers found that their lung function and oxygen levels improved significantly after the weight loss. Before losing weight, these dogs had trouble breathing, but after the diet, they showed no differences in respiratory function compared to dogs with a healthy weight. This suggests that helping your overweight dog lose weight can greatly improve their breathing and overall health.
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Abstract
Canine obesity is a common medical disorder and a known risk factor for associated diseases; it can seriously influence various physiological functions, thereby limiting the longevity of the animal. In this study, we evaluated potential respiratory alterations in obese dogs before and after being subjected to caloric restriction to decrease their body weight by 20%, and compared those dogs with control dogs with ideal body condition score. The animals were divided into three experimental groups: GI (obese dogs; n = 11); GII (obese dogs after weight loss, same animals as in GI); GIII (control dogs; n = 11). We evaluated lung function by spirometry and arterial blood gases. Statistical analysis included paired or non-paired Student's t test. Compared with dogs within an ideal body condition score (GIII), obese dogs (GI) had a low arterial partial pressure of oxygen (p < 0.05); decreased tidal volume (p < 0.005), inspiratory time and expiratory time (p < 0.05); and an increased respiratory rate (p < 0.005). After losing weight (GII), no differences with control dogs (GIII) were verified. The results suggested that obese dogs have an improvement in respiratory function with weight loss, but further investigations in a larger group of dogs are advised to confirm these findings.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30006938/