Page 505 - Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 5th Edition

Obesity 521

VetBooks.ir Box 27-8. Exercise and Environmental Enrichment Programs as Part of a Weight-Loss Plan.

Moderate, regular exercise is advocated in all pet weight-manage- Some creativity is often required to increase the activity of an
ment programs because increased physical activity can enhance overweight cat. Although cats do not readily walk on a leash, they
weight loss. Exercise is the only practical means of increasing ener- can be trained to do so if the owner is patient and persistent.
gy expenditure to create or widen a deficit between energy con- Sometimes a cat will walk back home on a leash if an exceptionally
sumed and energy expended for overweight patients. The metabolic dedicated owner is willing to carry the cat on the out-bound half of
rate of people undergoing weight reduction decreases more than the walk. The type of harness used for cats to be walked on a leash
expected after corrections have been made for decreased thermo- should be secure so the cat cannot escape the leash. This can be a
genic effects of food due to decreased intakes and decreased rest- challenge. Less extraordinary ways of increasing a cat’s daily activi-
ing energy requirement (RER) due to loss of lean body mass. The ty are to engage the cat in supervised play with string, balls, laser
only way to successfully sustain or increase overall energy expendi- “mice,” other toys or other pets. Such methods can make a differ-
ture during weight reduction is to increase the amount of physical ence. In a study of overweight cats, encouragement to play and envi-
activity. Exercise may also benefit obese patients by supporting ronmental enrichment increased activity enough to cause a 1% loss
retention of lean body mass and maintaining or increasing RER. In in body weight over a four-week period.
some cases, pets fail to lose weight unless exercise is part of the Options exist for indoor cats to safely be outdoors. Being outdoors
weight-reduction plan, regardless of the severity of caloric restric- provides cats with more opportunity for spontaneous exercise, com-
tion. Thus, modifying physical activity has been a key target of pared to that which occurs with their typical indoor lifestyle. Such
behavioral intervention to change body weight in people and pets. experiences have the additional benefit of environmental enrich-
Besides increasing energy expenditure, moderate, regular physi- ment. The outdoor options for indoor cats include a wide variety of
cal activity can help regulate food intake and improve lean body pet doors and safe cat-proof fencing. Table 1 provides a partial list-
mass. This seems to hold true for weight-loss and weight-mainte- ing of websites for doors and fencing; internet searches and pet sup-
nance programs. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, partially ply stores are additional sources.
reverses leptin resistance and suppresses the enhanced proinflam- Environmental enrichment can be important to a weight-loss pro-
matory burden induced by obesity. In obese people, physical activity gram. A recent study evaluated the effects of environmental enrich-
appears to have an independent effect on health-related outcomes ment on weight loss in cats. Cat owners were given feeding guide-
compared to body weight. It is unknown if exercise creates benefi- lines to reduce their obese cats’ body weight and were randomly
cial health effects in obese or overweight pets independent of weight assigned to either include environmental enrichment or not.
loss. Enrichments included additional food dishes, water bowels and litter
In people, exercise appears to be critical for prevention of signifi- boxes, plus climbing towers, window perches, scratching posts, cat
cant weight gain and maintenance of weight loss. In dogs, the risk spas, grooming supplies and toys. Cats were weighed weekly and
of obesity appears to decrease with each hour of weekly exercise. some were monitored for activity levels. Environmentally enriched
Owners of overweight cats play less with their cats than do owners cats had increased activity levels and a trend towards increased
of normal weight cats. In people, concomitant changes in food and weight loss. Owners of the environmentally enriched cats had a more
exercise are more important in women than men. positive image of their cat and felt they were playing a more active
Specific recommendations for increasing exercise should consid- role in their cat’s weight loss.
er the patient’s previous level of activity, presence of any physical There may also be benefits when people and pets exercise
problems for which exercise is contraindicated and time constraints together during weight loss. In one study, people exercising with their
of the owner. dogs reported a significantly improved quality of life for themselves
For dogs, 15- to 30-minute walks at least five to seven times per and a combined dog/owner weight-loss program was more effective
week are recommended. Up to an hour of walking has been report- at maintaining participation in a canine weight-loss program.
ed to be practical and enjoyable for some owners and pets.The daily
energy requirements of dogs covering 5 km per day are estimated Table 1. Cat doors and cat-proof fencing.
to increase between 7 to 15%. Exercise should be implemented Websites for cat doors
gradually, starting with amounts the patient can comfortably tolerate, Catdoors.com
especially if orthopedic, cardiovascular or pulmonary disease is also Petdoors.com
present. It is more important that the animal increase its activity by Solopetdoors.com
some amount each day even if it initially is able to walk only out the Websites for cat fences
door to the sidewalk and back inside.The goal should be to work up Catfence.com
Catfencein.com
to 15 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted walking if the animal cannot do Feralcat.com/fence.html
this initially. Exercise may need to be omitted initially for patients Purrfectfence.com
recovering from orthopedic surgery because walking may exacer- Websites for electronic cat fences
bate joint pain. Swimming is an alternative to walking that some- Hitecpet.com
Radiofence.com
times works for orthopedic patients if facilities are available to the
owner.Because swimming uses more calories per minute than walk- The Bibliography for Box 27-8 can be found at
ing, the same number of calories can be expended in less time (5- www.markmorris.org.
to 15-minute swim vs. 15- to 30-minute walk).