WASHINGTON – In a recent study published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal, Microbiology Spectrumresearchers have identified two probiotic strains that may be effective for reducing body fat in overweight and obese dogs.
Pet obesity in the United States is classified as an epidemic, with more than half of all dogs and cats considered overweight or obese in 2018, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP). This statistic is also true on a global scale, according to researchers, and nutritional interventions are one way veterinarians and pet owners are addressing the issue.
Younghoon Kim, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study and professor in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology at Seoul National University in Korea, and a team of researchers looked at the intestinal microbiota composition of both young and old dogs to determine whether How probiotic support can benefit these pets. What they found was a lack of lactic acid bacteria, specifically Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus species.
From there, the team worked with a test group of 20 beagles, which were separated into four research groups of five dogs each. The control group was fed standard adult dry dog food, while the other three groups were induced to develop obesity through a high-fat diet. Dogs fed a high-fat diet were given different levels of Enterococcus faecium IDCC 2102 and Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301 to determine how effective probiotic strains are in reducing body fat and resolving intestinal microflora imbalances caused by obesity.
“The strains we carefully selected showed remarkable success in reducing body fat percentage in dogs,” Kim said. “What sets these strains apart is their ability not only to limit dietary intake or enhance excretion to reduce body weight but, above all, to activate energy metabolism.
“Even when exposed to a high-calorie diet, we observed a decrease in body weight, a reduction in subcutaneous fat accumulation, and an increase in energy metabolism,” Kim added. “This confirms a shift in the body’s metabolic orientation toward fat consumption rather than fat accumulation.”
Obesity is also associated with systemic inflammation and disrupted hormone metabolism. According to the study, these harmful symptoms were also improved by the administration of Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus probiotics. Additionally, levels of commensal bacteria increased in dogs fed probiotics, which can boost immunity and help the body defend against harmful bacteria.
The positive results were maintained throughout the course of the study, suggesting these probiotics as a long-term solution for obese pets.
“My aspiration is to catalyze increased attention, funding and collaborative efforts in the scientific community to explore the broad landscape of probiotic applications in pet health,” said Kim.
Read more from the American Society for Microbiology’s study Microbiology Spectrum journal here.
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