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Before sharing leftovers this holiday season with the furriest member of your family, consider the research findings of a Maryville College senior.

Anna McRee -- who is a Rock Hill, S.C., native -- moved to Knoxville during her junior year of high school. After graduating from Farragut High School in 2006, she began working as a veterinary assistant at a small clinic.

McRee, who is majoring in biology, focused on a veterinary issue for her Senior Study. She later selected canine obesity after she found the topic to be a growing concern at the small animal veterinary practice where she works.

“Little research has been conducted on this topic, and it was manageable for the yearlong study,” said Dr. Drew Crain, associate professor of biology and McRee's Senior Study advisor.

Frequency and treatment options explored

In her 54-page study, McRee evaluated the incidence of obesity at My Pet's Animal Hospital -- a small animal veterinary practice in Knoxville -- and assessed the efficacy of two treatment tools: medication and dietary intervention.

Obesity was measured by recording the Canine Body Condition Score (BCS) on a scale of one through nine for every dog that entered the clinic over a two-month period. A score of six or seven indicated that the dog was overweight; a score greater than seven indicated obesity, or a weight at least 15 percent above the ideal.

McRee collected data for 594 dogs to determine the incidence of obesity. Four treatment groups -- composed of 134 total dogs -- were evaluated to examine the effectiveness of three treatment options. One group was treated with the newly released pharmaceutical agent dirlotapide; another was treated with a restricted-calorie diet; the third group was assigned a specially formulated high fiber diet; and the last group received no treatment because it acted as the control.

Each dog's weight was recorded three times: at the beginning of the study, during treatment and at the conclusion of treatment.

McRee's study presented two major findings: 1) 67 percent of dogs at the vet clinic were overweight/obese; and 2) both dietary changes and pharmaceutical treatment were equally effective in promoting a healthy percent of weight loss over a 30-day period in obese canines. The control group actually gained weight, illustrating that therapy is necessary to induce weight loss, she concluded.

“It was interesting to note the dynamics between people and their pets. Most didn't realize that their dogs were overfed or obese,” McRee said.

“The knowledge obtained from this study and the flexibility it provides for treatment options will hopefully reduce the prevalence of canine obesity,” the study said.

An exemplary study emerges

Crain was impressed with McRee's study and recommended placing the study in the college's permanent library collection. He pointed out that a good thesis consists of several components: a unique and important question, meticulous collection of data and successfully bringing data together to answer the question.

They have submit McRee's study to the quarterly journal Bios.

Crain said his job in the study was to ensure the scientific process was complete and there were no fatal flaws in the experimental design. “The most successful, effective and important research projects are collaborative. That is modeled perfectly by our Senior Study Program.”

McRee has applied to the veterinarian schools at The University of Tennessee and Auburn University. She is the daughter of Brad and Beth McRee of Knoxville.