New research led by the University of Arizona has found that feeding a dog only once a day reduces the risk of nine types of age-related canine health problems, including cancer, dental issues, cognitive decline, and gastrointestinal, liver, kidney, or urinary disorders.
Researchers analyzed data on 24,238 dogs collected in the context of the Dog Aging Project in order to find links between feeding frequency and health outcomes. After controlling for factors such as age, breed, or sex, the scientists found that dogs that were given only a single meal per day appeared to have lower odds of developing dental, gastrointestinal, orthopedic, kidney/urinary, and liver/pancreatic disorders.
A variety of diets have been studied for possible anti-aging effects. In particular, studies of intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding in laboratory rodents have found evidence of beneficial health outcomes. Companion dogs represent a unique opportunity to study diet in a large mammal that shares human environments. The Dog Aging Project has been collecting data on thousands of companion dogs of all different ages, sizes, and breeds since 2019. We leveraged this diverse cross-sectional dataset to investigate associations between feeding frequency and cognitive function (n = 10,474) as well as nine broad categories of health conditions (n = 24,238). Controlling for sex, age, breed, and other potential confounders, we found that dogs fed once daily rather than more frequently had lower mean scores on a cognitive dysfunction scale, and lower odds of having gastrointestinal, dental, orthopedic, kidney/urinary, and liver/pancreas disorders. Therefore, we find that once-daily feeding is associated with better health in multiple domains. Future research with longitudinal data can provide stronger evidence for a possible causal effect of feeding frequency on health in companion dogs.
