Dietary choline and betaine in the prevention and treatment of feline obesity

在工业化国家，肥胖率超过50%，肥胖是猫科动物种群的主要健康风险，特别是肥胖猫容易出现破坏性的健康并发症，对生活质量产生巨大的负面影响，并缩短寿命。此外，众所周知，目前的绝育做法是脂肪沉积和肥胖发展的主要风险因素。建议对超重的猫进行减肥，但目前的减肥计划往往结果令人失望，并不是没有风险。在严重的能量限制时期，肥胖使猫容易患上肝脏脂肪沉积症，其特征是脂肪在肝脏中堆积。虽然确切的发病机制仍然是个谜，但人们认为这与猫科动物蛋白质和脂肪代谢的特定特征有关。饮食中的胆碱和甜菜碱在代谢上与脂肪代谢有关，在治疗和预防猫肥胖时可能会有好处。胆碱作为磷脂酰胆碱的前体，是极低密度脂蛋白的结构成分，可以加速肝脏中脂肪的去除。此外，胆碱及其衍生物甜菜碱是甲基供体，可以促进肝脏肉碱的合成，众所周知，肉碱可以促进脂肪氧化。在家畜中，甜菜碱不仅可以减少脂肪在肝脏中的堆积，还可以减少腹部脂肪的储存，提高屠体瘦肉率。本研究的目的是研究饮食中补充胆碱和甜菜碱对肥胖猫在能量限制期间和绝育/绝育后生长的猫咪能量和脂肪代谢的影响。这一大学-政府-行业合作伙伴关系将支持未来宠物营养研究的机会以及国内外宠物食品市场的增长。全面了解宠物肥胖的分子机制以及功能食品如何影响这些机制将导致开发新的营养策略，使保持理想体重变得更容易，预防肥胖和相关的健康后果，并提高宠物的寿命和生活质量。

With a prevalence of more than 50% in industrialised countries, obesity represents a major health risk for the feline population, especially as obese cats are predisposed to devastating health complications that have a large negative impact on the quality of life and reduce life span. Moreover, current spay/neuter practices are known to be a major risk factor for fat deposition and development of obesity. Weight reduction is recommended in overweight cats yet current weight-loss programs tend to have disappointing outcomes and are not without risks. During periods of severe energy restriction, obesity predisposes cats to hepatic lipidosis, which is characterized by fat accumulation in the liver. Although the precise pathogenesis remains a mystery, it is believed that specific characteristics of feline protein and fat metabolism are involved. Dietary choline and betaine are metabolically linked to fat metabolism and may pose a benefit when treating and preventing obesity in cats. Choline as the precursor of phosphatidylcholine, a structural component of very-low-density lipoproteins, accelerates the removal of fat from the liver. Furthermore, choline and its derivate betaine, being methyl group donors, enhance the hepatic synthesis of carnitine, which is known to promote fat oxidation. In livestock, betaine not only reduces fat accumulation in the liver, but also decreases abdominal storage of fat and improves carcass lean percentage. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of dietary choline and betaine supplementation on energy and lipid metabolism in obese cats during an episode of energy restriction and in growing kittens following spay/neuter. This university-government-industry partnership will support future pet nutrition research opportunities and growth of the domestic and export pet food markets. Comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pet obesity and how these mechanisms are affected by functional foods that uncouple energy metabolism will lead to the development of new nutritional strategies that will make maintaining an ideal body weight much easier, prevent obesity and related health consequences and improve lifespan and quality of life of pets.