Efficiency of motivational tools and social media use in the control of canine obesity

Authors

  • Bruna Rodrigues Stafoche Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Hospital Veterinário, Departamento de Clínica Médica, São Paulo – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3525-4927
  • Márcia Marques Jericó Anhembi Morumbi University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2019.150269

Keywords:

Assistance, Strategies, Weight loss

Abstract

The increasing number of obese dogs in veterinary practice has been a warning to veterinarians about the need to develop new tools to approach the obese patient, aiming to attain satisfactory results in weight loss programs. A total of 18 obese or overweight dogs with no evidence of endocrine disorders were selected for this study. These animals were randomly divided into two groups with 9 animals each. In one of the groups, strategic tools were used by their tutors, aimed at behavioral and environmental modification, and this group was assisted daily through communication using a digital instant messaging app (WhatsApp(R)). In the other group, these tools were not used, and the animals were followed only during the monthly consultation. The analyzed variable was the percentage of weight loss of each animal in one month of the method used. The animals of the daily assisted group had a mean weight loss of 5.17%, while the animals
of the non-assisted group had a mean weight loss of 3.31%. Considering the results, one can state that the animals in the assisted group lost approximately 1.6 times more weight than the unassisted animals, when comparing the mean and the median weight loss percentage in the two groups. Although the results are encouraging, there was no statistical difference with a significance level of 0.05, and this is probably due to the small sample size, consisting of 18 animals.

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Author Biographies

  • Bruna Rodrigues Stafoche, Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Hospital Veterinário, Departamento de Clínica Médica, São Paulo – SP, Brazil

    Veterinary doctor graduated from Anhembi Morumbi University in São Paulo. Winner of the 1st Hill's Animal Nutrition Award 2015 (Kansas - USA). Winner of the 2nd Nestlé Purina Young Veterinary Program 2017. Trainee at renowned veterinary hospitals such as the Hospital and Shelter in New York (USA) - North Shore Animal League America, at the Veterinary Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo (FMVZ / USP) and Hospital of Veterinary Clinics of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).

  • Márcia Marques Jericó, Anhembi Morumbi University

    Veterinary doctor graduated by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo (FMVZ / USP). Master in Physiology from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB / USP). PhD in Clinical Medicine at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at USP (FMVZ / USP). Professor of the discipline of Small Animals Clinic of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Anhembi Morumbi University and Cruzeiro do Sul University. Semiology, Hospital Practice and Clinical Medicine at the University of Santo Amaro (UNISA), UNIBAN and Cruzeiro do Sul University. Pioneer in the Clinical Endocrinology in Dogs and Cats in Brazil. Coordinator of the Endocrinology Service of the Veterinary Pet Care Hospital. Veterinary clinic specializing in cases of endocrinology cases in small animals, and partner-owner of Consultorios Veterinários Alto da Lapa. Member of the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SBEM). Founding Partner and President-in-Office of the Brazilian Association of Veterinary Endocrinology (ABEV). More than 70 scientific papers presented at congresses, 14 complete articles published in scientific journals; author in six chapters of textbooks of Veterinary Medicine. Participation as lecturer or presenter of scientific papers in international events of importance: four South American Congresses; two World Cups (Argentina and Czech Republic); five Forums of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (United States and Canada).

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Published

2019-11-08

Issue

Vol. 56 No. 3 (2019)

Section

FULL ARTICLE

License

The journal content is authorized under the Creative Commons  BY-NC-SA  license (summary of the license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 | full text of the license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode) 

How to Cite

1.
Stafoche BR, Jericó MM. Efficiency of motivational tools and social media use in the control of canine obesity. Braz. J. Vet. Res. Anim. Sci. [Internet]. 2019 Nov. 8 [cited 2024 Apr. 19];56(3):e150269. Available from: https://revistas.usp.br/bjvras/article/view/150269