Obesity is defined as a disease in which excess body fat has accumulated such that health may be adversely affected. Obese dogs and cats are known to suffer from several associated clinical conditions including orthopedic diseases, respiratory disease, urinary tract disorders, diabetes, and decreased longevity. White adipose tissue (WAT) has been recognized as an active endocrine organ that is capable of secreting a wide range of hormones and protein factors, termed adipokines. In particular, the range of cytokines, chemokines, and other inflammation-related proteins secreted by WAT, are responsible for a state of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation which is known to exist in obesity. This research aims at investigating the effect of the dietary nutritional characteristics and dietary supplementations in the outcomes of obese dogs and cats undergoing a weight loss program. Body weight, body condition biochemical variables including inflammation-related proteins and behavioural parameters will be measured before, during and after the weight loss program, and a nutrigenomic approach will be also used to study how nutrients or bioactive dietary components affect host gene expression. Further, the owners’ approach towards their obese pets, as well as the veterinarians’ approach towards their obese patients will be investigated to get more insight into their influence on this growing nutritional-related problem in companion animals.
Five publications related to the Research Topic for the candidate interview:
Contact person
Prof. Rebecca Ricci
Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health (https://www.maps.unipd.it/)
University of Padova
tel.: +39-049-8272656
e-mail: rebecca.ricci@unipd.it