Captive elephant populations are not self-sustaining due to health concerns possibly related to obesity. Categorizing obesity relies on qualitative analyses like body condition scores (BCS). However, elephant indices have not been validated against measured body composition. The objective was to compare BCS systems to body composition determined by deuterium dilution in 28 zoo-kept Asian elephants. Elephants were weighed and given deuterated water orally (0.05 ml/kg). Blood was collected at ~0, 24, 120, 240, 360, and 480 hr after dosing. Photographs were taken to score the elephant based on four BCS systems (BCSWemmer [0 to 11 scoring], BCSMorfeld [1 to 5 scoring], BCSFernando [0 to 10 scoring], BCSWijeyamohan [1 to 10 scoring]). Based on regression analysis, relative fat ranged from -305 kg to 515 kg, where negative values indicate less and positive values indicate more fat than expected for the elephant's mass in this population. BCSFernando was associated with relative fat (p = .020, R2 = 0.194). Relative fat, adjusted for sex and age in the statistical model, was associated with BCSWemmer (p = .027, R2 = 0.389), BCSFernando (p = .002, R2 = 0.502), and BCSWijeyamohan (p = .011, R2 = 0.426). Inclusion of zoo and familial relatedness resulted in all BCS systems associated with relative fat (p ≤ .015). Only BCSFernando predicted relative fat, unadjusted, suggesting it is the most capable system for practical use. Compared to absolute fat, relative fat may be more biologically relevant as greater fat relative to body mass is more likely to lead to health issues.

中文翻译：

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亚洲象（Elephas maximus）的脂肪量与四种身体状况评分系统的比较


由于可能与肥胖有关的健康问题，圈养大象种群无法自我维持。肥胖的分类依赖于身体状况评分 (BCS) 等定性分析。然而，大象指数尚未根据测量的身体成分进行验证。目的是将 BCS 系统与通过氘稀释确定的 28 头动物园饲养的亚洲象的身体成分进行比较。对大象称重并口服氘水（0.05ml/kg）。在给药后～0、24、120、240、360和480小时收集血液。根据四个 BCS 系统（BCSWemmer [0 到 11 评分]、BCSMorfeld [1 到 5 评分]、BCSFernando [0 到 10 评分]、BCSWijeyamohan [1 到 10 评分]）拍摄照片对大象进行评分。根据回归分析，相对脂肪范围为 -305 公斤至 515 公斤，其中负值表示脂肪含量低于该种群大象体重的预期，正值表示脂肪含量高于预期。 BCSFernando 与相对脂肪相关（p = .020，R2 = 0.194）。在统计模型中根据性别和年龄进行调整后，相对脂肪与 BCSWemmer (p = .027，R2 = 0.389)、BCSFernando (p = .002，R2 = 0.502) 和 BCSWijeyamohan (p = .011，R2 = 0.502) 相关。 0.426）。纳入动物园和家庭相关性导致所有 BCS 系统都与相对脂肪相关 (p ≤ .015)。只有 BCSFernando 预测了未经调整的相对脂肪，这表明它是最适合实际使用的系统。与绝对脂肪相比，相对脂肪可能更具生物学相关性，因为相对于体重的脂肪含量越高，更有可能导致健康问题。