Effect of physical activity and dry food on the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus

27oktober2010
Source: The Veterinary Journal, 2009, volume 179, issue 2
With domestication and urbanisation, cats have transformed from being hunting animals that eat protein-rich prey into more sedentary animals that eat a carbohydrate-rich diet. It was hypothesised that a high intake of dry cat food and a lack of physical activity
may play a role in the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus. Information on dietary history and physical activity of 96 cats with diabetes mellitus and 192 matched controls was collected retrospectively, using a telephone questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between questionnaire-derived variables and the development of diabetes mellitus. The energy percentage of dry food in the diet was not significantly correlated with the development of diabetes mellitus (P = 0.29), whereas both indoor confinement (P = 0.002) and low physical activity (P = 0.004) were. The results indicated that the proportion of dry food in a cat’s diet may not be an independent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas physical inactivity and indoor confinement are.


Title: Indoor confinement and physical inactivity rather than the proportion of dry food are risk factors in the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus

Authors: L.I. Slingerland, V.V. Fazilova, E.A. Plantinga, H.S. Kooistra and A.C. Beynen

Source: The Veterinary Journal, 2009, volume 179, issue 2