Assessment of subcutaneous fat thickness by thoracic radiograph and its correlation with body condition score in dogs

A prospective study was undertaken to determine whether subcutaneous fat thickness measured on thoracic radiographs could be associated with body condition score (BCS) in dogs. In this study, a total of 84 dogs of different breeds and body sizes were included. BCS of each animal was recorded using 5-point BCS scale and subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) of control (BCS =3), overweight (BCS=4) and obese (BCS=5) dogs were determined using lateral and dorso-ventral radiographs of thoracic region. S FT was measured at the level of the 8^th rib head on a ventro-dorsal radiographic view of the thorax. Ratios of SFT to the width of the midbody of T8 on the dorso-ventral view (T8 ratio) and to the length of the midbody of T4 on a right lateral view (T4 ratio) were calculated and compared with BCS. SFT ratio at T4 and T8 in overweight and obese dogs was significantly higher as compared to ideal weight dogs. Also, a significant correlation was recorded between BCS and SFT, BCS and T4 ratio and BCS and T8 ratio. Thus, both BCS and thoracic radiographs can be used together to accurately measure the level of subcutaneous fat in dogs.