Palatability assessment of prescribed diets on domestic shorthair cats.

Background and Aim: The value of the pet food industry, which is majorly the prescribed diet, exponentially increased over the years due to increased awareness among pet owners to provide a healthy lifestyle for their pets. However, several factors such as aroma, flavor, texture, and shape of prescribed diets greatly influenced the palatability in cats. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the palatability of the prescribed diet for domestic shorthair (DSH) cats. Materials and Methods: The two-bowl method was employed to determine the palatability of prescribed diets on five DSH cats for 6 days. Furthermore, the four types of prescribed diet assessed in this study were struvite, renal, hypersensitivity, and intestinal. Furthermore, the pet food palatability was analyzed using "First Approached," "First Consumed," "Total Consumption," and "Intake ratios." Results: Our findings revealed that "Total Consumption" and "Intake Ratios" were significantly different in struvite, renal, and intestinal diets compared to the hypersensitivity diet. In addition, this result indicates that the hypersensitivity diet is the most unpalatable compared with other diets. Conclusion: A detailed investigation of the diet ingredients showed that a hypersensitivity diet lacks herbs and spices than the other diets. Therefore, these ingredients lacking in the hypersensitivity diet influence the palatability of pet foods.

In-hospital weight loss, prescribed diet and food acceptance / Perda de peso hospitalar, dieta prescrita e aceitação de alimentos

BACKGROUND: Weight loss and malnutrition may be caused by many factors, including type of disease and treatment. AIM: The present study investigated the occurrence of in-hospital weight loss and related factors. METHOD: This cross-sectional study investigated the following variables of 456 hospitalized patients: gender, age, disease, weight variation during hospital stay, and type and acceptance of the prescribed diet. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparing patients' weight in the first three days in hospital stay and determining which factors affect weight. The generalized estimating equation was used for comparing the food acceptance rates. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The most prescribed diet was the regular (28.8%) and 45.5% of the patients lost weight during their stay. Acceptance of hospital food increased from the first to the third days of stay (p=0.0022) but weight loss was still significant (p<0.0001). Age and type of prescribed diet did not affect weight loss during the study period but type of disease and gender did. Patients with neoplasms (p=0.0052) and males (p=0.0002) lost more weight. CONCLUSION: Weight loss during hospital stay was associated only with gender and type of disease. .

RACIONAL: A perda de peso e a desnutrição podem ser desencadeadas por vários fatores, além de estar relacionada com o tipo de doença e com a terapia empregada. OBJETIVO: Investigar a ocorrência de perda de peso e fatores relacionados, durante a internação. MÉTODO: Estudo transversal com 456 pacientes hospitalizados, sendo estudadas as seguintes variáveis: sexo, idade, doença, evolução de peso, tipo e aceitação da dieta prescrita. Para comparar o peso entre os três primeiros dias de internação e para o estudo dos fatores que interferiram na alteração do peso, foi utilizada a Análise de Variância (ANOVA) para medidas repetidas. Para comparar a proporção de respostas na aceitação da dieta, foi utilizado o método das Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (EEG), com nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: A dieta mais prescrita foi a geral (28.8%) e 45.5% dos pacientes perderam peso durante a internação. A aceitação da dieta hospitalar melhorou do 1º para o 3º dia de internação (p=0.0022), mas mesmo assim, a perda foi significativa (p<0.0001). Verificou-se que a idade e o tipo de dieta prescrita não influenciaram na perda de peso no período; mas, o tipo de doença e o sexo, apresentaram influência nos pacientes portadores de neoplasias (p=0.0052) e o sexo masculino (p=0.0002) apresentou mais perda de peso. CONCLUSÃO: A perda de peso no decorrer da internação foi relacionada apenas ao sexo e ao tipo de doença. .

EXISTENCE IN SUBJECTS OF LOW PLASMA TRIIODOTHYRONINE CORRELATED WITH POST-ABSORPTIVE RESTING METABOLISM / 体力科学

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in post-absorptive resting metabolism (PARM) on plasma triiodothyronine (T3) levels under a prescribed diet. The subjects were 31 sedentary female college students (19.9±0.9 yrs). Subjects stayed in a metabolic ward at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition for 18 days. PARM was measured 4 times during the experimental period. Additionally, blood was collected 4 times during the experimental period, and general health care including the measurement of thyroxin by blood biochemical examination was carried out. Subjects were divided into three groups (n=26, n=4, n=1), two of which were analyzed for this study. The two groups were divided according to thyroid function: Group N (n=26) included subjects in which T3 was judged to be within the normal range during the experimental period; Group L (n=4) included subjects for whom T3 was not normal during the study period, and was judged to be under the normal range at least once. The remaining 1 subject had a T3 judged to be over the normal range.For Group N, several parameters decreased significantly during the course of the experiment: weight was 51.5±4.97 vs. 50.8±4.3 kg (p<0.01); T3 was 1.16±0.19 vs. 1.01±0.12 ng/ml (p<0.01); and PARM was 3.1±0.2 vs. 2.9±0.2 ml/min/kg (p<0.05). For Group L, several parameters also decreased significantly during the course of the experiment: weight was 53.6±4.9 vs. 52.6±4.5 kg (p<0.01); T3 was 0.94±0.15 vs. 0.75±0.07 ng/ml (p<0.01); and PARM was 2.9±0.2 vs. 2.7±0.1 ml/min/kg (p<0.05). The average PARM of Group N was significantly higher than that of Group L (7.0%). PARM during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle was significantly higher than during the menstrual phase (3.5 %), in subjects for whom the phases of the menstrual cycle were distinguishable (n=13).According to the 2005 Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for Japanese, the basal metabolic rate (BMR) is calculated at 23.6 kcal/kg body weight/day, or 3.27 ml/min/kg translated for VO₂ for women within the 18~29 year age group. However, the values calculated from the measurements of this research study were approximately 9.5% lower for Group N and 15.8% lower for Group L than that of the DRIs.Future investigation is required to explain the reasons for the difference in PARM between this study and that of previous ones.