For today’s Daily Vet, we’re revisiting Dr. Ken Tudor’s column
from February on the topic of BMIs and BCSs. What do these
acronyms mean? Read on — and then let us know how your pet
measures up. For years, preoccupation with achieving a certain
weight has been the goal of weight loss programs. But weight has
proven to be an inaccurate measure of fitness. In humans, the
Body Mass Index, or BMI, has replaced weight as the sole
indicator. The BMI compares weight to height. Tall people have
more bone and muscle, which weighs more than fat, so they could
be "overweight" but not fat. A short person weighing the human
average of 150 pounds could be carrying excessive amounts of fat
and still be "normal weight." BMI corrects for these
differences. "Ideal weight" in pets has similar problems.
Breeding practices have led to complicated breed weights. Blood
lines within breeds often have very different body types, with
differences as great as 20 pounds, and gender differences can
have the same or greater weight variation