Are you accidentally reducing the lifespan of your beloved furry friend? As it turns out, you might be.
According to a study out of the University of Washington, dogs that are fed twice a day or more are more likely to be diagnosed with age-related problems than those fed once a day.
This was the startling discovery that Matt Kaeberlien and his fellow researchers found after analysing a survey of more than 24,000 dogs.
Kaeberlien began his study in 2019 with the formation of the Dog Aging Project. The goal of the project was to identify the genetic and environmental factors which cause aging in humans and animals.
Previous studies using mice have found that intermittent fasting can result in a slower ageing process. Kaeberlien wanted to see if intermittent fasting will reduce the likelihood of age-related health conditions in dogs too.
The evidence had a pretty compelling correlation. Most dogs that were only fed once a day had a significantly lower chance of developing age related conditions such as cancer and dementia compared to their counterparts who were fed twice or more each day.
However, Kaeberlien was unable to establish a causation. A proposed theory is that the quantity of the food consumed, rather than the feeding frequency, might help explain the correlation.
For example, dogs that are fed more often might be eating more overall, and thus more likely to be obese.
Dogs that were only fed once a day had a significantly lower chance of developing age related conditions such as cancer and dementia.
Should you change up your dogs’ diet?
But that doesn’t mean you should change your dog’s diet immediately.
For now, Kaeberlien is recommending that people stick to how they’ve always been feeding their dog. The current widely accepted advice is to feed your pet twice a day.
However, if further research on this topic confirms that a daily feed is the healthier way of nourishing your pal, there might be a new consensus.
However, remember that this study only focused on canines. Thus this might not be the case for other pets such as cats or birds.
You can read the full article here.
