Dogs’ insatiable appetites appear to have no limitations, therefore it’s up to humans to figure out the optimum sort and quantity of food to feed domestic canines as guardians. Recent research has revealed that eating a vegan diet offers health benefits, and a recent study suggests that eating only one meal per day may be ideal. Intermittent fasting has long been practiced by humans in various areas of the world, but it has lately gained popularity as scientist’s debate its possible significance in slowing the aging process. This new study, published in GeroScience, investigates if domestic dogs might get comparable benefits.
The Dog Aging Project, which began in 2019, has been collecting data on canine diets and cognitive performance, as well as nine other health categories. The data from over 10,000 canines was then evaluated to see whether there were any links between nutrition and health profiles. One meal per day was linked to less health problems related to cognitive, renal, and liver function, as well as fewer dental and gastrointestinal difficulties. While the link cannot be used to infer causality, it might indicate that dogs benefit from intermittent fasting in the same way as mice do.
In a statement, principal author and biostatistician Kathleen Kerr of the University of Washington said, “We weren’t sure at all that we would detect any variations in dogs’ health or cognition depending on feeding frequency.” “I believe that seeing a link between meal frequency and health in just one domain would have piqued our interest. I was taken aback by how many domains had relationships.”
Because each dog is unique, determining the ideal diet for them should be seen as an individual procedure. However, standard diets consisting of many meals per day may not be the greatest option. The authors plan to investigate the long-term consequences of various diets on domestic doggos next. They stated, “We found that once-daily eating is related with greater health in various dimensions.” “Future longitudinal study might give further evidence for a probable causal influence of feeding frequency on companion dog health.”
Previous study has discovered that Labradors — the domestic dogs most prone to obesity – have a genetic variation that changes how their brain perceives emotions of fullness or hunger. As a result, food-obsessed dogs may never look full even after multiple meals, much alone one. We hope Bray and his colleagues are prepared for 2022. A hungry Labrador scorned has no fury like hell.
