Resting energy expenditure and body composition of Labrador Retrievers fed high fat and low fat diets

A high dietary fat intake may be an important environmental factor leading to obesity in some animals. The mechanism could be either an increase in caloric intake and/or a decrease in energy expenditure. To test the hypothesis that high fat diets result in decreased resting energy expenditure (REE), we measured REE using indirect calorimetry in 10-adult intact male Labrador Retrievers, eating weight-maintenance high-fat (HF, 41% energy, average daily intake: 8018 ± 1247 kJ/day, mean ± SD) and low-fat (LF, 14% energy, average daily intake: 7331 ± 771 kJ/day) diets for a 30-day period. At the end of each dietary treatment, body composition measurements were performed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The mean ± SD REE was not different between diets (4940 ± 361 vs. 4861 ± 413 kJ/day on HF and LF diets respectively). Measurements of fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) also did not differ between diets (FFM: 26.8 ± 2.3 kg vs. 26.3 ± 2.5 kg; FM: 3.0 ± 2.3 vs. 3.1 ± 1.5 kg on HF and LF diets respectively). In summary, using a whole body calorimeter, we found no evidence of a decrease in REE or a change in body composition on a HF diet compared with LF diet.