ST. LOUIS — Marking the 25th anniversary of the Purina Life Span Study, the Purina Institute released research that directly connects the importance of lean body condition with an extended life span. The institute also continues to educate veterinary professionals on approaching healthy weight and longevity.

The 14-year Purina Life Span Study found that Labrador Retrievers maintained in lean body condition from puppyhood and throughout life lived a median of 1.8 years longer than heavier matched littermates. They could also go longer before chronic disease required treatment.

“The Purina Life Span Study has profoundly shaped how I practice and teach veterinary medicine,” said Julie A. Churchill, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM (SAIM and Nutrition), of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. “I integrate the findings and talk about this every day with pet owners. The message is simple but powerful: feeding pets to maintain a fit and lean condition supports longer, healthier lives.”

According to the Purina Institute, the study was the first-ever lifelong dietary study conducted in dogs to date. The study followed 48 Labrador Retrievers from seven litters throughout life. Matched littermates received the same complete-and-balanced diets, but one dog in each pair was fed 25% less food than its littermate to help maintain a lean body condition, while the other was fed as a control.

The research found that lean-fed dogs had a median life span of 13.0 years, compared with 11.2 years for control-fed dogs (a 15% extension). Lean-fed dogs also reached a later age before requiring treatment for age-related chronic conditions: 12.0 years, compared with 9.9 years for control-fed dogs.

At age 8, just 10% of lean-fed dogs had osteoarthritis affecting two or three joints — hip, shoulder, elbow or stifle — compared with 77% of control-fed dogs.

The study also continues to yield new insights, as researchers have used its longitudinal data to develop and validate a biological clock and clinical markers that may help estimate biological age and predict health trajectories and mortality risk in dogs.

“The Purina Life Span Study reflects our commitment to high-quality, long-term research,” said Brittany Vester Boler, Ph.D., of Nestlé Purina PetCare Global Research & Development. “Its data and samples are still helping us ask — and answer — new questions about healthy aging in dogs.”

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