The Importance of Satiety in Your Dog's Weight Loss

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Satiety Satiety is defined as a feeling of fullness or satisfaction. A primary goal in developing Hill's® pet foods for weight management is to induce satiety so your dog is satisfied while consuming fewer calories.

Improving Compliance

A critical factor in any weight loss program is compliance, and you are more likely to stay with the program if your dog doesn't act hungry. Studies show that dogs consume fewer calories and appear less hungry when fed fiber-enhanced dog foods for weight management.

Key points

  • High-fiber dog foods satisfy hunger so dogs consume fewer calories.
  • Studies show high-fiber foods help dogs lose weight.

Four Times Less Body Fat

In one study,1 beagles were fed either low,-fiber (<2 percent) or high-fiber (19.4 percent) foods for three weeks, then switched. When dogs ate the high-fiber food, they consumed 27 percent fewer calories and lost more than four times the body fat.

High Fiber + High Protein Curbs Appetite

Studies confirm that high levels of fiber and protein improve satiety and may lead to better compliance from dog parents who have their dogs in weight-loss programs.2,3 Overweight dogs lost 80 percent more fat when fed a high-protein, high-fiber food compared to a food with similar protein but approximately half the fiber. The higher levels of protein and fiber that proved effective in these studies are similar to those found in Hill's® Prescription Diet® r/d® dog food.

Less Calories, Greater Success

Additional studies4,5 support Hill's findings that fiber-enhanced foods help promote satiety while reducing caloric intake. And when overweight dogs consume fewer calories, they're more likely to lose weight.

1 Jewell DE, Toll PW, Novotny BJ. Satiety reduces adiposity in dogs. Vet Ther. 2000;1(1):17-23.
2 Weber M, Bissot T, Servet E, et al. A high protein, high-fiber diet designed for weight loss improves satiety in dogs. J Vet Int Med. 2007;21:1203-1208.
3 German AJ, Holden SL, Bissot T, et al. A high protein, high fibre diet improves weight loss in obese dogs. Vet J. 2010;183:294-297.
4 Yamka RM, Friesen K. Effect of total dietary fiber on satiety in dogs. FASEB J. 2008;22:1117.3.
5 Bosch G, Verbrugghe A, Hesta M, et al. The effects of dietary fibre type on satiety-related hormones and voluntary food intake in dogs. Brit J Nutr. 2009;102:318-325.

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