Weight Problems in Pet Animals - Introduction

Weight Problems in Pet Animals

The High Points

1.      Obesity is extremely common in our pets, for the same reasons it is common in people - too much food, too little exercise

2.      We tend to feed the bowl, not the animal, and the low cost of pet food doesn’t help

3.      Weight loss diets may be effective, but sometimes aren't, and new research suggests that they are too low in protein

4.      Canned or homemade foods help us with portion control, due to their expense and also their water content

Introduction

Did you know that the most common form of malnutrition in the USA is obesity?  Our pets have followed suit; in one study, 21.4% of dogs surveyed were obese, and only 60.3% were at optimum weight.  Some animals are more likely to become corpulent - labradors, dachsunds, beagles, shelties and basset hounds are particularly prone, as are many neutered animals and some pets fed table scraps.   Cats fed free choice easily become obese.

We all know the causes of obesity - too little exercise and too many calories.  There are 2 other factors probably at work here.  An individual's personality may affect his metabolism:  placid, relaxed animals will gain weight more easily than pets with alot of nervous energy.  Genetic make-up also plays a large role.  Although "hormones" are not a common cause (as you may have heard a friend or two say), illnesses such as hyperadrenocorticism, hypothyroidism, or over-medication with steroids may  be associated with weight gain.  As you can appreciate, some pets are simply going to lose and maintain their weight better than others.

Unfortunately, the pet food industry is partially to blame.  Pet foods come in a wider variety of choices, for less money, than ever before.  We have become accustomed to feeding over-large amounts of inexpensive food, filling big bowls and thinking that we are making our pets happy.  'Weight loss' diets perpetuate the myth by allowing us to continue to feed large amounts of food, which is just lower in calories.  In truth, if pets ate 'human-quality- foods’ with plenty of lean meat and less grain, the food might be more expensive, usually more nutritious, and pets would be less likely to become overweight since we would feed a little less.