Research Abstracts Supporting Hills Prescription Diet Metabolic and the Healthy Weight Protocol Tools

1) Toll PW, et al, Effectiveness of morphometric measurements for predicting body composition in overweight and obese dogs. J Vet Intern Med 2010;24:717. This study compared DEXA results with morphometric measurements (HWP tool) and showed that the HWP tool is a simple and reliable method for predicting % body fat in overweight or obese dogs. 2) Lusby AL, et al. Effectiveness of BCS for estimation of ideal body weight and energy requirements in overweight and obese dogs compared to DXA. J Vet Intern Med 2010;24:717. This study confirmed that current body condition scoring systems used by practicing veterinarians are inadequate for determining ideal body weight and the amount of food needed for successful weight loss in dogs with > 45% body fat. 3) MacLeay J, et al. Lean body mass increases, body fat decreases during weight maintenance following weight loss in obese dogs. J Vet Intern Med 2013;27:743. This study showed that feeding a test food (Metabolic Canine) to obese dogs was associated with safe and effective weight loss and maintenance of lean body condition. MacLeay J, et al. Lean body mass increases, body fat decreases during weight maintenance following weight loss in obese cats. J Vet Intern Med 2013;27:743. This study showed that feeding a test food (Metabolic Feline) to obese cats was associated with safe and effective weight loss and maintenance of lean body condition.

2010 ACVIM Forum Abstracts ABSTRACT #151 PHARMACOKINETICS OF INTRAVENOUS AND INTRAMUSCULAR TRAMADOL IN LLAMAS. S. Cox, T. MartinJimenez, J Yarbrough, T. Doherty. University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine, Knoxville, TN. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of tramadol (2 mg/kg) and its metabolite M1 after intravenous and intramuscular administration to llamas. Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic that possesses opioid agonist features that has been used to treat moderate to severe pain in humans. Camelids are a rapidly growing aspect of small ruminant agriculture in the US. The popularity and numbers of llamas being kept as pets, packing animals, and show animals has increased in recent years. With the increased numbers of animals there is an increased demand for veterinary service; however, there are no drugs approved by the FDA for use in camelids and pharmaceutical companies cannot economically justify seeking approval of drugs in this species. Six healthy adult male llamas were used to determine the metabolism of tramadol. Tramadol half-life, volume of distribution at steady state, clearance and AUC after intravenous administration were 4.43 0.90 h, 4902.68 1495.91 mL/kg and 1680.50 141.05 mL/h/kg, 1193.65 99.19 h ng/mL respectively. The bioavailability was 110 21% and half-life 3.00 0.15 h with intramuscular administration. M1 had a half-life of 10.40 2.9 h and 7.71 0.54 h following intravenous and intramuscular administration of tramadol, respectively. No adverse effects were observed. Administration of tramadol resulted in concentrations high enough to produce analgesia based on human data.

717

ABSTRACT #153 EFFECTIVENESS OF BCS FOR ESTIMATION OF IDEAL BODY WEIGHT AND ENERGY REQUIREMENTS IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE DOGS COMPARED TO DXA. AL Lusby,1 CA Kirk,1 PW Toll,2 I Paetau-Robinson2. 1University of Tennessee Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Knoxville, TN. 2Hills Pet Nutrition, Topeka, KS. With an estimated 3540% of pet dogs being overweight or obese, veterinarians must accurately assess energy needs to prescribe appropriate food doses. Body condition scoring (BCS) is the most popular and accessible method for estimating degrees of obesity in dogs, but these scales were designed to assess animals with body fat percentages below about 45%. Many obese dogs have body fat percentages of 50% and greater. This project compared the accuracy of using body fat percentages to the 5 and 9 point BCS systems for estimating ideal body weight and resting energy requirements (RER) in overweight dogs. Thirty-six healthy, client-owned dogs ranging from 5 to 73.6 kg underwent dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning to assess their percentage of body fat (BF). BF percentage was then used to estimate ideal body weight, calculate RER, and classify each animal into the 5 and 9 point BCS system. Once a BCS was assigned, the median body fat percentage for each score was used to estimate ideal body weight and RER (5 point scale - 4 5 30%, 5 5 40%; 9 point scale - 6 5 30%, 7 5 35%, 8 5 40%, 9 5 45%). Based on DXA, body fat ranged from 28.3% to 63.7% with a mean of 45.9%. To assess the accuracy of BCS for moderately versus morbidly obese dogs, patients were divided into two groups: o 45% body fat (n 5 15) and 4 45% body fat (n 5 21). Compared to DXA, estimations of ideal body weight were signicantly higher using the 5 (23.0 vs. 19.2 kg) and 9 (21.1 vs. 19.2 kg) point BCS in dogs with BF 4 45% (p o 0.001) but did not differ in dogs with o 45% BF (p 4 0.05). DXA estimations of RER were also signicantly lower than estimations using the 5 (709 vs. 616 Kcal/day) and 9 (665 vs. 616 Kcal/day) point scales in dogs with BF 4 45% (p o 0.001), but did not differ in dogs with o 45% BF (p 4 0.05). The results of this study demonstrate current BCS systems provide good estimates of ideal body weight and RER in dogs with less than 45% BF, but are inadequate for calculating RER and ideal body weight in morbidly obese dogs (BF 4 45%). As a result, food dose calculations will be overestimated and this may affect weight loss efcacy. As canine obesity rates climb, we must develop new methods to assess our most obese patients and provide better weight management.

ABSTRACT #152 EFFECTIVENESS OF MORPHOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS FOR PREDICTING BODY COMPOSITION IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE DOGS. PW Toll,1 I Paetau-Robinson1, AL Lusby,2 GA Henry,2 CA Kirk2. 1Hills Pet Nutrition, Topeka, KS. 2University of Tennessee Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Knoxville, TN. In a prior study we demonstrated that current methods of estimating ideal body weight for weight loss feeding are inaccurate in dogs having ! 45% body fat. The purpose of this study was to develop simple and accurate methods of measuring body composition in clinical practice in overweight to morbidly obese dogs. Current morphometric measurement methods do not adequately predict body composition in obese dogs. Additionally, these methods tend to be difcult to use and have poor accuracy. This study evaluated two methods of predicting lean body mass (LBM) from animal morphology, radiographic measurement of skeletal size and external physical measurement of body size. Thirty-six client-owned overweight or obese adult dogs (28% to 64% body fat) weighing 5 to 73.6 kg underwent dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning to assess their body composition. Nine measurements were made from digital radiographs to assess skeletal size and 16 external physical measurements were made to assess body size. Body weight was also measured. Multiple regression analysis using DXA results as the dependent variable was used to develop regression equations for the prediction of LBM from the skeletal size and body size data. Several equations were developed that had high (4 0.9) correlation coefcients for both methods when the dogs were divided into 2 size groups ( 40 lbs and 4 40 lbs). The best equations were applied to the data from the same group of dogs to evaluate how well values for individuals were predicted (within 10% of the DXA value). The best equations using skeletal size data resulted in a r2 5 0.99 and a predictability ( 10%) ! 86% using 8 variables (including BW) for both size groups. The best equations using body size data resulted in a r2 5 0.99 and a predictability ( 10%) 5 100% using 8 variables (including BW and age) for both size groups. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that both methods could be used to predict LBM using a variety of regression equations. This approach shows great potential for the development of simple and accurate tools to be used in clinical practice. Further studies must be done to validate the equations in a population of dogs other than those used to develop the equations.

ABSTRACT #154 OBESITY AND GENDER AFFECTS TOTAL ADIPONECTIN CONCENTRATION AND MULTIMER DISTRIBUTION IN DOMESTIC CATS. CR Bjornvad1, JS Rand2, F Rose2, HY Tan2, PJ Armstrong3, J Whitehead2. 1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 2The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. 3University of Minnesota, MN. Adiponectin, an adipokine that attenuates insulin resistance, decreases with obesity in humans and cats. In particular, the more biologically active HMW (high molecular weight) isoform decreases to a greater degree in human subjects than the less active LMW (low molecular weight) isoform. We determined plasma concentrations of total, LMW and HMW adiponectin in client-owned, lean and obese adult, neutered, domestic shorthaired cats. Following health screening by physical examination, urinalysis, hematology, coagulation and biochemical proles, 73 cats (35 males and 38 females) were included in the study and informed consents were obtained. All cats were anaesthetized and body fat percentage (%BF) was measured using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Total adiponectin was determined using a commercial ELISA kit. LMW and HMW concentrations of adiponectin were determined by Western blotting after sucrose-gradient velocity centrifugation. Adiponectin multimer distribution (SA 5 HMW/(HMW 1 LMW)) was calculated and linear regression used to assess the relationship between %BF, total adiponectin and multimer distribution. Differences between lean/normal weight (%BF o 35, n 5 26) overweight

2013 ACVIM Abstracts 4 blood samples collected. Two samples were collected while the dog was on its regular diet; these samples were used to diagnose and conrm the presence of hypertriglyceridemia. After the collection of the 2 initial samples, the dogs diet was changed to a dry low-fat diet (Royal Canin GastrointestinalTM Low FatTM) and two additional samples were collected at approximately 8 and 12 weeks after the diet change. Lipoprotein proling was carried out using a bismuth sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaBi(EDTA)) density gradient ultracentrifugation method as previously described. Sliced inverse regression (SIR) and logistic regression analyses were used to test whether there is a relationship between group and lipoprotein prole. Signicance was set at p < 0.05 for all analyses. Before the diet change, 15/16 (94%) of hyperlipidemic MS were classied as hyperlipidemic based on their lipoprotein prole alone. After the diet change, signicantly fewer Miniature Schnauzers (7/16; 44%; odds ratio: 19.3; 95% CI: 2.0-184.0; p = 0.006) remained classied as hyperlipidemic by lipoprotein prole analysis, while the majority (56%) were classied as normal. The most important changes in lipoprotein fractions in response to diet change as determined by SIR analysis were decreases in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-1 in combination with increases in LDL-4 and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-3c. Dogs that eventually responded to the diet change could be separated with 88% accuracy from the ones that did not respond based on lipoprotein prole analysis before the diet change (chi-square=8.99; p = 0.003). Dogs that did not respond to the diet change tended to have initially lower LDL fractions and higher HDL fractions than the ones that responded. In conclusion, the study diet was found to signicantly shift lipoprotein proles of hyperlipidemic MS towards normality. A subgroup of dogs did not fully respond to the diet change. Dogs that eventually responded to the diet could be separated from those that did not based on lipoprotein prole analysis before the diet change.

743

groups. Urinary Ca, Na, K and SO42- content was higher with water B consumption (in mg/L: Ca:36 8 vs 57 11, Na:3502 162 vs 3875 238, K:5289 193 vs 5674 203, SO42-:7977 193 vs 8623 420) while PP was higher with water A (14 1 mg/L vs 12 0.8 mg/L). RSS-COM showed higher urinary values with water B cats when compared to water A (7 1 vs 14 4), while no dierences on RSS-STR were showed. In conclusion, mineral composition of water can have a signicant eect on urine composition of cats and should be considered as a dietary factor that could modify the risk of urolithiasis in cats.

NM-6 LEAN BODY MASS INCREASES, BODY FAT DECREASES DURING WEIGHT MAINTENANCE FOLLOWING WEIGHT LOSS IN OBESE DOGS. Jen MacLeay, Kevin Hahn, Lynda Melendez. Hills Pet Nutrition, Topeka, KS. The objective of this study was to document the changes in body composition of overweight/obese dogs fed a new food moderate in calories, fat and protein, designed for weight loss and weight maintenance. Twenty beagle dogs were determined to be at least 20% over their individual calculated ideal body weight as determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). During the weight loss phase of the study, dogs were oered a once daily ration of the test food based on each individuals energy requirements set to achieve weight loss of 1-2% body weight/week. Dogs were placed on the weight maintenance protocol once they achieved target body weight (15-20% of their body composition as fat) or at the end of 4 months. The weight maintenance phase lasted an additional 4 months. Food oerings were adjusted as needed to maintain the body weight achieved at the end of the weight loss period. Monthly DXA was performed to determine body composition changes during weight loss and weight maintenance. Changes in body weight, percent body fat and lean mass at each time point were compared to baseline (month 0 for weight loss phase and month 4 for weight maintenance phase) using a paired t-test. During the weight loss phase, average body weight decreased from 17.6 0.71 to 13.6 0.52 kg (P < 0.01). Average percent body fat decreased from 41.0 1.01 to 26.0 1.5 (P < 0.01). Lean body mass decreased from 9.82 0.33 to 9.53 0.30 kg (P = 0.04). During the weight maintenance phase, average total body weight decreased slightly from 13.6 0.52 to 13.4 0.50 kg; this change was not signicant. Average percent body fat decreased from 26.0 1.5 to 23.0 1.6 (P = 0.03). Average lean body mass increased from 9.53 0.30 to 9.78 0.35 kg (P = 0.04). Serum biochemical values remained normal during weight loss and maintenance. Based on this data, the test food provided safe and eective weight loss and maintenance. Lean body mass increased during the weight maintenance phase in the face of continued loss of body fat.

NM-5 MINERAL COMPOSITION OF WATER INDUCES e, I JeuCHANGES IN URINE OF CATS. A Salas, M Gargant sette, M Compagnucci, Ll Vilaseca, C Torre. Anity Petcare, Barcelona, Spain. Dietary factors have been implicated in the etiology of feline urolithiasis. Main dietary changes to reduce the recurrence of calcium oxalate (CaOx) and struvite calculi are based on increasing urine volume (high sodium diet, addition of water to the diet, canned food) or decreasing precipitation risk of the lithogenic components in the urine (modifying pH of the urine, decreasing lithogenic components or including crystallization inhibitors). Water composition can be very variable depending on the origin and quality. The purpose of this work was to study whether water mineral composition and hardness can aect cat urine composition. Twelve adult healthy cats were used for this study. In a crossover design, during 2 weeks, cats received 2 dierent commercial natural spring waters: Water A (Ca:4 mg/dl, Mg:1.8 mg/dl, Na:1.3 mg/dl, Cl:0.67 mg/dl, HCO3:18 mg/dl) or Water B (Ca:100 mg/dl, Mg:38 mg/dl, Na:35 mg/dl, Cl:58 mg/dl, HCO3:306 mg/dl). During the whole study, all the cats received a commercial balanced diet during. Daily food and water intake were recorded. Urine samples were taken at day 11 after the beginning of the study and density, volume, pH of the urine were analyzed for each cat. Urine concentration of minerals (Ca, Mg, P, Na, K, SO42-, NH4+, Cl-), crystal inhibitors (citrate, pyrophosphate (PP), phytate, glycosaminoglycans), oxalate, uric acid and creatinine were analyzed in pools of 2 cat urines. Urine relative supersaturation was determined for CaOx (RSS-COM) and struvite (RSS-STR) using Equil-92 program. A general linear model (GLM) with repeated measures was performed to assess the eect of water type in all variables analyzed. Values were considered as statistically signicant for P value < 0.05. Water consumption was slightly higher for water A compared to water B (102 4 ml vs 97 4 ml) but no dierences were observed on pH, density and urine volume between both water

NM-7 LEAN BODY MASS INCREASES, BODY FAT DECREASES DURING WEIGHT MAINTENANCE FOLLOWING WEIGHT LOSS IN OBESE CATS. Jen MacLeay, Kevin Hahn, Lynda Melendez. Hills Pet Nutrition, Topeka, KS. The objective of this study was to document body composition changes during weight loss followed by weight maintenance in cats fed a new food moderate in ber, fat and protein. Twenty domestic shorthair cats were determined to be at least 20% over their individual calculated ideal body weight as determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). During the weight loss phase of the study, cats were oered a ration of the test food based on each individuals energy requirements set to achieve weight loss of 1-2% body weight/week. Cats were placed on the weight maintenance protocol once they achieved target body weight (1520% of their body composition as fat) or at the end of 4 months. The weight maintenance phase lasted an additional 4 months. Food oerings were adjusted as needed to maintain the body weight achieved at the end of the weight loss period. Monthly

744

2013 ACVIM Abstracts of age fed one of ve protein concentrations (15, 16, 22, 25, and 30%) in a one year study. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc., Topeka, KS, USA. All dogs were provided with regular opportunities for socialization and environmental enrichment. Dogs experienced behavioral enrichment through daily interaction and play time with caretakers, and by daily opportunities to run and exercise with access to toys. Dietary protein was sucient in all foods as shown by no response to treatment, and maintenance of albumin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and lean body mass over the one year study. Increasing dietary protein was associated with increasing GFR (P < 0.01) and circulating urea (P < 0.01) as well as decreasing creatinine and symmetrical di-methyl arginine (SDMA) concentration (P < 0.01). Total lean body mass was positively associated with circulating creatinine concentration (P < 0.01). GFR was inuenced by circulating concentrations of creatinine, SDMA, the creatinine and SDMA interaction, lean body mass, and fat mass. These data show that GFR in the dog responds to protein load as inuenced by dietary protein intake, is inuenced by body composition, and that creatinine, SDMA, body lean, and body fat all have a predictive benet in estimating GFR.

DXA was performed to determine body composition changes during weight loss and weight maintenance. Changes in body weight, percent body fat and lean mass at each time point were compared to baseline (month 0 for weight loss phase and month 4 for weight maintenance phase) using a paired t-test. During the weight loss phase, average body weight decreased from 6.60 0.35 to 5.04 0.27 kg (P < 0.01). Average percent body fat decreased from 40.1 1.5 to 26.1 1.5 (P < 0.01). Lean body mass decreased from 3.75 0.16 to 3.54 0.16 kg (P < 0.01). During the weight maintenance phase, average total body weight decreased slightly from 5.04 0.27 to 4.88 0.25 kg, (P = 0.04). Average percent body fat decreased from 25.5 1.4 to 20.7 1.7 (P < 0.01). Average lean body mass increased from 3.55 0.17 to 3.70 0.17 kg (P < 0.01). Serum biochemistry values remained in the normal range during both weight loss and maintenance. Based on this data, the test food provided safe and eective weight loss and maintenance. Lean body mass increased during the weight maintenance phase in the face of continued loss of body fat.

NM-8 NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF DOGS UNDERGOING CALORIC RESTRICTION FOR WEIGHT LOSS FOR SELECTED NUTRIENTS. DE Linder1, LM Freeman1, SL Holden2, L Alexander3, V Biourge4, AJ German2. 1Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA, 2University of Liverpool, Wirral, United Kingdom, 3WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, UK, 4Royal Canin Research Center, Aimargues, France. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that dog plasma concentrations of selected nutrients decrease after undergoing caloric restriction for weight loss. Thirty-one overweight dogs that had successfully lost at least 15% of initial body weight between 2005 and 2011 were included in the study. Dogs remained healthy throughout the study, and no signs attributable to nutrient deciency were noted. Percentage weight loss was 28.3% (16.0-40.1%) starting body weight, over a period of 250 days (91-674 days). Median energy intake during the weight loss period was 62 (44 to 74) Kcal/kg0.75 target weight per day. Nutrients that had been previously identied to be at potential risk of deciency during caloric restriction were measured in plasma (choline, amino acids) and urine (selenium) at the initiation and completion of a standardized weight loss regimen in dogs. Choline (P = 0.046) and threonine (P = 0.02) decreased after weight loss. Glycine (P = 0.041), and urinary selenium:creatinine ratio (P = 0.006) both increased after weight loss. There were no other signicant dierences in plasma nutrient concentrations. Since concentrations of most measured nutrients did not change signicantly, the data are not consistent with a widespread nutrient deciency in dogs undergoing caloric restriction using a diet formulated for weight loss. However, the change in plasma choline concentration might indicate an increased requirement during weight loss. Further prospective studies are required to establish choline reference ranges and the eect of weight loss on choline requirements in the dog.

NM-10 FOODS WITH CONTROLLED PROTEIN AND PHOSPHORUS AND ENHANCED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS VITAMIN E AND C REDUCE CIRCULATING UREA AND SYMMETRICAL DI-METHYL ARGININE, AND INCREASE INOSINE IN DOGS. DE Jewella, M Yerramillib, E Obareb, M Yerramillib, L Melendeza, J Hallc. aHills Pet Nutrition, Inc. Science and Technology Center Topeka, KS, bIDEXX laboratories, Westbrook, ME, cDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Body composition and circulating metabolites were measured in 39 dogs from 3 to 15 years of age fed one of three foods in a six month study (Control food - Prescription Diet k/d, Control with added sh oil, and control with soybean and coconut oil as well as no added animal fat. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc., Topeka, KS, USA. All dogs were provided with regular opportunities for socialization and environmental enrichment. Dogs experienced behavioral enrichment through daily interaction and play time with caretakers, and by daily opportunities to run and exercise with access to toys. Dietary protein was sucient in all foods as shown by no response to treatment, and maintenance of albumin, and lean body mass over the six month study. The amount of lean body mass was positively correlated to serum concentrations of creatinine, negatively correlated to inosine and unrelated to SDMA and urea (P < 0.05). During the feeding period all foods had reduced SDMA and urea (urea was reduced at one month on study while SDMA was reduced at 3 months through the end of the study). Inosine was increased at one month and remained elevated through the end of the study period. Kynurenic acid was not inuenced by diet or time.

NM-9 INCREASING DIETARY PROTEIN CONCENTRATION FROM 15% TO 30% IN A ONE YEAR STUDY INCREASES GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE AND REDUCES CREATININE AND SYMMETRICAL DI-METHYL ARGININE. DE Jewella, M Yerramillib, E Obareb, M Yerramillib, L Melendeza, J Hallc. aHills Pet Nutrition, Inc. Science and Technology Center Topeka, KS, bIDEXX laboratories, Westbrook, Maine, c Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Body composition, glomerular ltration rate (GFR) and circulating metabolites were measured in 70 dogs from 5 to 15 years

OT-1 EFFECT OF MAROPITANT, ACEPROMAZINE AND ELECTROACUPUNCTURE IN THE PREVENTION OF NAUSEA AND VOMITING ASSOCIATED WITH ADMINISTRATION OF MORPHINE IN DOGS. R Koh, H Xie, N Isaza, K Cooke, S Robertson. University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiemetic properties of maropitant, acepromazine and electroacupuncture (EA) in dogs receiving morphine as an anesthetic premedication. The study population included 222 male and female dogs of various breeds, aged from 0.60 to 10.0 years of age, and weigh-

Western Veterinary Conference 2013

S1B MEASURE IT & THEY WILL LISTEN: NEW OBJECTIVE MEANS OF ASSESSING OBESITY Angela Witzel, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVN University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN, USA Why ideal weight matters Fat is like a stray dog. If you feed it, it will keep hanging around. One of the keys to successful weight loss is feeding for the weight your patient should be, rather than feeding the extra fat they are carrying around. However, determining the ideal weight of a Labrador retriever or a mixed breed hound can be challenging. Traditional body condition scoring (BCS) charts correlate to percentages of body fat and ideally, dogs and cats should be somewhere between 15-25% body fat. The five point BCS was designed and validated for dogs and cats up to approximately 40% body fat and the nine point scale extends to about 45% fat. Unfortunately, the epidemic of obesity in humans has spread to our furry companions and there is a rising population of morbidly obese dogs and cats with body fat percentages greater than 45%. Practical method for determining ideal body weight Morphometric measurements are a method for assessing body condition in dogs and cats and involve measuring various areas of the body with a tape measure., Researchers at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, along with Hills Pet Nutrition, have developed a new morphometric measurement protocol that can accurately assess body fat percentages in dogs above 30% body fat.30,31 83 pet dogs assessed as overweight or obese by their veterinarian were enrolled in a prospective study. Body condition score (BCS) was assessed on a 5-point scale, morphometric measurements were made, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was performed to determine lean body mass, fat mass, and percent body fat. Equations for predicting lean body mass, fat mass, and percent body fat based on morphometric measurements were generated using the best fit statistical model. Percent body fat ranged from 20.4% to 65.2% in the 83 dogs and BCS from 3 (ideal) to 5 (obese). The r2 for the morphometric equations were 0.98 for lean body mass, 0.98 for fat mass, and 0.82 for percent body fat, and the fraction of dogs within 10% of the DEXA values was 74.7% for lean body mass, 67.5% for fat mass, and 67.5% for percent body fat. In contrast, BCS predicted percent body fat with an r2 of 0.52, was within 10% of the DEXA value for only 15.7% of the dogs, and underestimated the correct value by 10% for 80.7%. Although this new method for estimated body fat percentages is much more accurate than current body condition scoring methods, there are limitations. The accuracy of the morphometric measurements decreases as patient become leaner, and should only be used for overweight dogs. In addition, the morphometric measurements are still just estimates and it is important to reassess your patient after calculating ideal body weight to see if they fit with the model. Overall, morphometric measurements demonstrate a vast improvement over traditional body condition scoring for determining ideal body weight in overweight and obese patients and will help veterinarians improve weight loss plans.