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Courtney Davaloz, 3VM
Texas A&M University
School of Veterinary Medicine
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Nutrition is defined as being the process by
which organisms take in and utilize food
material
All of the animals above are affected by
nutrition
Everyday we make decisions affecting
nutrition, whether in regards to our pets or
ourselves
Finding a complete balance for yourself and
your pet can be challenging
Fats, Oils,
Sweets
Milk, Yogurt,
Cheese
Vegetables
Food
Pyramid
Meat, Poultry, Fish,
Dry Beans, Eggs,
Nuts
Fruit
Bread, Cereal, Rice
& Pasta
Why do we have these guidelines on what we
should or shouldn’t eat?
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Water
Fat
Carbohydrates
Protein
Vitamins
Minerals
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Why so important?
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Solubilize biochemicals and thereby facilitate their
actions and interactions
Regulates body temperature
Fluid medium for blood and lymph systems (Blood
is 90% water)
Lubrication of body tissues
Makes up 55-75% of the human body
Water is not stored heavily in the body so it
must constantly be replaced as it is excreted
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Condition marked by a shortage of water or
fluids in the body
Can be caused by vomiting/diarrhea or
excessive sweating due to strenuous activity
Symptoms
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Lethargy(weakness)
Headaches and cramps
Increased thirst
Decreased urination
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Made up of a long
sequence of amino acids
that folds upon itself to
form function-specific
structures
Serve numerous essential
functions in the body
such as muscle growth,
tissue repair, and
transporting oxygen
Myoglobin:
Oxygen transport
protein
Tryptophan
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As protein is consumed
from food, its
constituent AAs are
used to produce
necessary body proteins
Certain AAs are
essential (required by
the body for normal
growth)
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Not all protein sources
contain the same amino
acids so the diet must
be diverse or wellmanaged
Natural sources include
meat, eggs, dairy
products, and soy beans
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Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel
for the body. They ultimately produce the
energy that powers the body processes.
The three main sources of carbs are simple
sugars, starches, and fiber
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Simple sugars are the product of
digestion of the larger molecules.
• The most important
of these is glucose,
which is the primary
sugar absorbed by the
body
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Starch
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Long chain of sugars connected by a specific type of
bonding(α-bond) that is easily digested by enzymes
in the small intestine.
Fiber
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Long chain of sugars connected by β-bonds which
can only be broken down by microbes in the
stomachs of ruminant animals
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Is a concentrated form of energy
Most common type is triglycerides
Saturated fats vs. Unsaturated fats
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Fat Soluble
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Water Soluble
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Vitamins A, D, E, K
B – vitamins, Vitamin C
Important for maintaining balanced diet
Vitamin A Deficiency
 Vitamin D Toxicosis
 Vitamin K Deficiency
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Many different functions
Bone and Cartilage (ex. Calcium and Phosphorus)
 Maintaining fluid balances (ex. Sodium and
Chloride)
 Muscle and Nerve functions (ex. Potassium)
 Enzymatic reactions (ex. Potassium and Zinc)
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Very important for balanced diets
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Calcium deficiencies
53% of these deaths are attributable to
under-nutrition
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What is obesity?
Increasing problem
Evolutionary change
Has many health affects
What is an ideal body weight?
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Diabetes Mellitus
Orthopedic issues
Heart Disease
Liver Disease
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Type I vs. Type II
Cats and Type II diabetes
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High fat diet cause activation of a regulatory protein
which can cause development of insulin resistance
Over-weight cats two times more likely to get
diabetes
Obese cats four times more likely to get
diabetes
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Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament
Osteoarthritis
Elbow and hip dysplasia
Laminitis in horses
Orthopedics
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Take animals
into local
veterinarian
Body
Condition
Scores
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Scale 1-5
Scale 1-9
Similar to BMI
(body mass
index) in
human
medicine
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Quantity vs. Quality
Animals being fed one big meal a day vs. 2-3
small meals a day
Table Scraps
Relation to human medicine
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Healthy vs. Unhealthy methods
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Not a quick fix!
Proper diet
 Purina OM
 Science diet R/D
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Exercise
 Importance in human medicine
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Drugs
Consult your veterinarian!
To get you and your animal on
the right track!
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A 40 lbs dog who is 5 lbs
overweight is equivalent to
a 200 lbs man being how
many pounds
overweight???
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The first prescription
drug aimed for canine
weight-loss in the USA
Dirlotapide
Targets small intestine
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Reduces fat absorption
Gives a feeling of satiety
Therefore reduces food
intake
 i.e. calories
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Goal
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Different phases
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Lose 3% of body weight
every month
Weight loss phase
Maintenance phase
Consult your
veterinarian!
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Study trying to determine the distribution of
Body Condition Score values for dogs
examined at a veterinary hospital and to see if
the scores differed from dogs with malignant
neoplasm with dogs that did not have
neoplasm
Retrospective prevalence case-control study
involving 1777 dogs with cancer and 12,893
dogs without cancer
Sample population was pulled from January
1999 to December 2004
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Dogs used in this study had a variety of
cancers, including sarcomas, carcinomas, and
round cell tumors
Obesity was defined as >7/9 BCS
Overall higher prevalence of obese dogs in this
study (compared to previous studies)
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This has mirrored the increase in obese humans
Results: A lower prevalence of overweight and
obese dogs with sarcomas and carcinomas and
no difference in BCS distribution in dogs with
round cell tumors
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is obesity related to
cancer?
 By causation?
 Or, correlation?
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Purina.com
Slentrol.com