Here is an article which re-inforces my prevailing
skepticism of the Pet Food Industry:
-----------------------------------------------------
Wide Variation in Calorie Content Among 'Low Calorie' Pet Foods
-----------------------------------------------------
ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2010) -- Dog and cat owners buying weight-
control diets for their overweight pets are faced with a confusing
two-fold variation in calorie density, recommended intake, and wide
range cost of low-calorie pet foods, according to a study by the
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
The study, published this month in the Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association, examined nearly 100 commercially
available diets with weight management claims. Among their findings
is that dry dog foods range in calorie density from 217 to 440
kilocalories per cup (kcal/cup) and a recommended intake that
ranged from 0.73 to 1.47 times the dog's resting energy requirement.
The diets also varied wildly in price -- from 4 cents to more than
$1.10 per kilocalorie.
Similar findings were made in wet dog food (189-398 kcal/can) and
cat food (235-480 kcal/cup) marketed for weight control. The results
may be significant for owners whose cats or dogs are overweight or
obese, according to Lisa M. Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN, the study's
co-author along with 2010 Cummings School graduate Deborah E.
Linder, DVM. Nearly 50% of domesticated animals are overweight
or obese.
"There is so much information -- and misinformation -- about pet
foods, it's understandable that people are confused about what to
feed their dogs and cats," said co-author Dr. Lisa Freeman,
professor of nutrition at Tufts University's Cummings School
of Veterinary Medicine. "To counteract these myths, people are
accustomed to turning to the labels on food -- but, as this study
shows, packaging might not always be a reliable source of
information."
Under federal guidelines, pet foods labeled "lite," "light," "low
calorie," "less calorie," or "low calorie" must provide the caloric
content. Foods with a light, lite, or low-calorie designation must
also adhere to a maximum kilocalorie per kilogram restriction.
However, Freeman points out that more than half of the foods
evaluated in the study exceeded this maximum. Foods without these
designations currently are allowed, but not required, to provide
the caloric content on the label. Efforts are currently underway
to make this information required on all pet food labels.
Another important issue identified in this study was the high
variability in feeding recommendations for weight loss based on
the labels that were evaluated. In fact, for most of the diets,
pets would not lose weight or would actually gain weight if owners
adhered to the labels' feeding directions and did not adjust
according to their pet's individual calorie requirements.
Obesity in companion animals is associated with numerous diseases,
including pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, dermatologic disease,
diabetes, and respiratory tract diseases -- and may contribute to
a shorter lifespan, according to earlier published studies.
Calorie density was gathered from the product packaging and by
contacting manufacturers. Linder and Freeman studied 44 canine and
49 feline diets.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
P.S. My advice is to BE a skeptic.
Question EVERYTHING that you hear by marketers.
Such as those fantastic claims of ...Low Calorie
That the 'Veterinary Approved' Pet Food is better.
OR those of Vaccine Manufacturers which tout the
need to have yearly vaccines which are oh so safe.
Here is a product that I endorse, and I encourage you to do your
due diligence.
Check the ingredients.
That it is manufactured in a GMP facility with 'Human Grade'
Ingredients.
And that there is 3rd party testing- so that what is ON the label
is really in the bottle.
No comments:
Post a Comment