Referência:
Bermingham, E., Thomas, D., Morris, P., & Hawthorne, A. Energy requirements of adult cats. British Journal of Nutrition, n. 103, p.1083-1093, 2010 . doi:10.1017/S000711450999290X
Resumo:
While the relationships between energy requirements and age(1, 2) and body weight (BW)(3) have been determined in domestic cats, these reports utilised the outcomes of a series of studies in only a single colony of cats. Given the increase in obesity levels in companion animals and the number of recent studies that have investigated this phenomenon, meta-analysis may be an appropriate tool to accurately determine the energy requirements of adult cats. The use of meta-analysis is a powerful method by which the results from multiple independent experiments can be combined to produce more robust results than can be obtained from single experiments alone(4). Combining results from different experiments using statistical meta-analytical methods can reduce the extent that differences in experimental conditions may have an impact on the calculated prediction equations and cause bias. Additionally, meta-analysis can identify factors that may influence these relationships. Maintenance energy requirements for adult cats have been calculated to be 100 kcal/kg BW− 0 ·67 for normal-weight, and 130 kcal/kg BW− 0 ·4 for heavy cats(5). The National Research Council (NRC)(5) highlighted that the literature reporting maintenance energy requirements in adult cats is highly variable. For example, the effects of age on maintenance energy requirements differ markedly among publications, as does the effects of neutering. These effects may be explained by other factors that were not taken into consideration among studies, such as age of the cat or methodology used to determine the cats' energy requirements. The objective of the present review was to conduct a meta-analysis on the energy requirements for maintaining BW in adult domestic cats in order to (a) determine predicted changes in energy requirements with weight, and (b) account for factors that may influence these relationships. Initial results have been reported in abstract format in Bermingham et al. (6). For ease of comparison with the NRC(5), we have reported energy requirements in kcal/kg BW.
Palavras-chave: Requerimento nutricional, gasto energético, Energy requirements