Adiposity and Muscularity Evaluation Using New Objective Morphological Methods Available in Clinical Veterinary Practice: Feline Body Mass Index and Ultrasonography

In this narrative review, we provide an overview of morphology-based body composition measurement techniques and introduce evaluation methods relevant to veterinary practice. We specifically focus on previous work on the feline body mass index and body composition assessment methods using ultrasonography, creating new figures and tables from previously reported data. Based on these modalities, we introduce an objective, easy-to-use method for estimating obesity and assessing body composition. We highlight that adiposity and muscularity evaluation via the feline body mass index and ultrasonography appropriately reflects the total fat mass, fat percentage, and lean body mass assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The proposed method objectively assesses obesity and can be easily and stably used in clinical veterinary practice.