What is Body Condition Scoring (BCS) and Why is it Important?

Photo by Dr. Haus

Body Condition Scoring (BCS)

A body condition score (BCS) is a way to determine how much body fat there is on a patient.  The weight of a patient is not a helpful measure in our veterinary species as their body types vary greatly.    

There are two major types of BCS scales, the 1-9 scale and the 1-5 scale.  The smaller the number, the less fat the patient has on their body.  On a 1-9 scale the ideal score for a patient would be 4 or 5 and on the 1-5 scale the ideal score is a 3.  A patient with a high score is obese while a patient with a low score is emaciated (extremely thin).

The 1-9 scale is used for beef cattle, dogs, cats, horses, etc.  The 1-5 scale is mostly used for dairy cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats.

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Why is Body Condition Scoring important?

Body condition scoring allows us to determine the health status of a patient in regards to their energy balance and overall fat accumulation.  Too little fat and too much fat are both detrimental for patients.  This scoring system allows us to continue monitoring our patients throughout their lives to note any changes which can be an indicator for different disease states or the need to change diet/exercise routines.