Statement of Work Exhibit A - Clinicians Brief Body Condition Score

Procedures Pro

NUTRITION

Sherry Lynn Sanderson, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM & ACVN, University of Georgia

Body Condition Score Techniques for Dogs

ody condition scores (BCS) is just as important to monitor in dogs as body weight. Assigning a BCS when recording body weight is useful to:

B

• Assess whether a dog’s weight is appropriate
• Detect underlying disease (before outward clinical signs are present) and changes in nutritional status • Detect small increases in body weight and BCS that can eventually lead to obesity.

BCS NUMERIC SCALES

Assessing BCS is a subjective and semiquantitative method for evaluating body fat that combines visual assessment (from the top and side) and palpation (waist, ribs and abdominal tuck, and dorsal spinous processes at tail base) to assess adipose tissue mass.
Two numeric scales are used for assigning BCS in dogs (Table). Either scale can be used as long as the type of scale

CONTINUES

Table. Body Condition Scoring Scales
Underweight

Ideal

Overweight

5-Point Scale

1 (very thin)

2 (underweight)

4 (overweight)

5 (obese)

9-Point Scale

1–3

4–5

6–9

P ro ce d u re s P ro CONTINUED
is designated. For example, a dog with a
BCS of 4 could be ideal or overweight,
depending on which scale is used. However, if the BCS is recorded as 4/9 or 4/5, it is easy to determine the appropriateness of the dog’s body weight.

ASSESSING BODY FAT

Despite the subjective nature of assigning
a BCS, when assigned according to specific defined criteria, it is reliable for assessing body fat in dogs.1 The correlation between BCS and percentage of body fat is highly significant (r = 0.90).
Percentage body fat for ideal BCS (4–5/9
or 3/5) averages 20% and ranges from
15% to 25% of body weight. With the 9point scale, each 1-point change from

ideal represents an increase or decrease of
5%. With the 5-point scale, each point
represents a 10% change.

BREED & AGE DIFFERENCES

There is a notable breed exception to
average percentages. In a study by
Jeusette and colleagues,2 dual-energy xray absorptiometry was used to determine body fat percentage in a limited number of purebred dogs. Greyhounds
appeared to have a higher muscle mass
than other breeds. As a result, those with
a BCS of 5/9 had a percentage body fat
of 7.2%, which is significantly lower
than the average percentage of 20%.
Each 1-point change in BCS from ideal
represented an increase or decrease of

1.5%. In contrast, huskies and Rottweilers with a BCS of 5/9 had a percentage