Adiposity and Muscularity Evaluation using New Objective Morphological Methods Available in Clinical Veterinary Practice: Feline Body Mass Index and Ultrasonography

Regular health screenings has not yet been widely recognized among pet owners. Thus, we aimed to establish clinical health diagnostic criteria for cats and develop objective, easy-to-use methods for calculating the obesity index and assessing body composition. This review focuses on body composition measurement techniques and introduces evaluation methods for animals. The Body and Muscle Condition Score were used to assess nutritional status. Although easy to measure, these techniques are subjective and dependent on the operator’s skills. Although objective methods for assessing obe-sity and body fat percentage, such as several body mass index and bioelectrical im-pedance analysis, have been established, they have not been widely adopted owing to complexity. The gold standard for body composition evaluation includes several tech-niques; however, their invasiveness and cost make them challenging to use in clinical settings. Consequently, we established a method for assessing body fat percentage and muscle mass using feline body mass index (fBMI) based on skeletal zoometry meas-urements, subcutaneous fat and specific muscle thickness measured by ultrasonogra-phy was established. These techniques are objective obesity evaluation methods that can be easily and stably used in clinical veterinary practice.