Weight control + Convalescence

Question 1

What causes obesity in animals?

Answer 1

1. Owner over-feeding
2. Excess of titbits
3. Owner over-generosity
4. Uneducated feeding
5. Sedentary lifestyle
6. Genetic predisposition in some breeds
7. Age, sex + reproductive status
8. Medications
9. Disease/medical conditions:
   * Hypothyroidism
   * Hyperadrenocorticism

Question 2

What are the 2 types of obesity?

Answer 2

1. Hyperplastic obesity
2. Hypertrophic obesity

Question 3

What are the normal body fat percentages at birth meant to be?

Answer 3

1 - 2%

Question 4

What are the normal body fat percentages at 6 months old meant to be?

Answer 4

10 - 15%

Question 5

What are the normal body fat percentages at Adult meant to be?

Answer 5

20%

Question 6

What percentage of fat = Obesity?

Answer 6

15% more than the ideal weight

Question 7

What essentially is obesity?

Answer 7

A positive energy balance

Question 8

What are the potential side effects of Obesity in animals?

Answer 8

1. Cardiovascular disease
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. Osteoarthiritis
4. Cancer
5. Hypertension
6. Urolithiasis
7. Anaesthetic complications
8. Heatstroke
9. Excercise intolerance
10. Hyperlipidemia
11. Pancreatitis
12. Hyperadrenocorticism
13. Urinary incontinence
14. Cruciate Liagment Disease
15. Laryngeal collapse
16. Bradypnoea

Question 9

What are the 5 basic steps to reversing obesity?

Answer 9

1. Identify target weight
2. Create milestones (10-15% less than 1st + each consecutive milestone weight)
3. Gradual weight loss (Dogs 10-15 weeks, Cats 15-20 weeks)
4. Feed at 1.4x RER dor Dogs + 1x RER for Cats at each milestone weight (Adjust to individual)
5. Reduce intake by an additional 10% (if no weight loss)

Question 10

Name 2 Hills diets used for DM in Cats + Dogs

Answer 10

1. Hill’s Canine Metabolic Diet
2. Hill’s Feline Metabolic Diet

Question 11

What is weight loss, essentially?

Answer 11

A negative energy balance

Question 12

State the 3 simple starvation steps for reversing weight loss safely.

Answer 12

1. Weight px + Calculate RER
2. Feed RER for 1st 24hrs
3. Increase to MER, gradually for 2 days > 2 weeks

Question 13

What are the 3 potential complications that can arise from reversing weight loss

Answer 13

1. Diarrhoea
   * Due to high fat content of diet
2. Intital weight gain is fat + water - not protein
   * Observe the px’s attitude + activity to gauge recovery
3. Re-feeding syndrome
   * Hypokalaemia
   * Hypophosphataemia
   * Sudden movement of potassium + phosphorus from blood > cells