Body composition estimated by bioelectrical impedance analyses is diminished by prenatal stress in neonatal lambs and by heat stress in feedlot wethers

Authors

Rachel L. Gibbs, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Caitlin N. Cadaret, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Rebecca M. Swanson, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Kristin A. Beede, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Robert J. Posont, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Ty B. Schmidt, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jessica Lynn Petersen, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Dustin T. Yates, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2019

Citation

Transl. Anim. Sci. 2019.3:1691–1695

Comments

© The Author(s) 2019.

Open access

doi: 10.1093/tas/txz059

Abstract

Body composition correlates to carcass value in livestock, which makes the ability to accurately estimate body composition in the live animal beneficial (Berg and Marchello, 1994). Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a clinical tool used to assess body composition in humans (Lukaski et al., 1985), but its use in livestock has been minimal. Lean and fat content contribute to profitability for livestock producers, and poor body composition can be caused by stress that occurs either during in utero development (De Blasio et al., 2007) or during postnatal growth (Boyd et al., 2015). Maternal hyperthermia-induced placental insufficiency (Brown et al., 2015) and sustained maternal inflammation (Cadaret et al., 2018) are two established causes of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). IUGR-born animals are characterized by asymmetrical growth restriction that alters lifelong body composition due to impaired muscle growth capacity (Yates et al., 2018). In addition, acute heat stress during periods of peak postnatal growth can alter body composition in livestock (Boyd et al., 2015). We postulate that BIA can detect these changes in the live animal. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine whether BIA measurements can predict changes to body composition in live neonatal lambs exposed to intrauterine stress and in heat-stressed feedlot lambs.