The authors of the study, who took into account factors such as the sex, age, breed or size of the dogs, analyzed the relationship between diet and canine health of more than 10,000 dogs.
Best score in health indicators
According to experts, adult dogs that are fed just once a day tend to score better on several health indicators, compared to those that are fed frequently.
“Controlling for sex, age, breed, and other potential confounders, we found that, unlike frequently fed dogs, dogs that ate once a day had lower scores on a cognitive dysfunction scale, and lower likely to have gastrointestinal, dental, orthopedic, kidney/urinary, and liver/pancreatic disorders,” explained study author Emily Bray of the University of Arizona.
The research team says this is the largest study to date on the subject, so their main conclusion is that feeding a dog just once a day is associated with certain health benefits.
Read Also: Academy of Medicine urges to increase vaccination due to the risk of reappearance of polio
Study limitations
However, the authors of the research acknowledge that they had a series of limitations that must be taken into account, for example, all the dogs were fed by their own owners, and it was not taken into account if the dogs had to take a medicine while they ate.
In addition, and although there was clarity in some areas, it was not so in others. For example, in terms of cardiac, skin and neurological health, as well as the incidence of cancer, there were no statistically significant data.
For this reason, specialists are aware: until there are more studies in this regard, no one should radically change their dog’s diet solely because of what this study affirms.
“If corroborated by future studies, it may be prudent to revise the currently prevailing recommendation that adult dogs should be fed twice daily,” the team concludes.
