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610 | Veterinary Record | December 20/27, 2014
Feature
Feature
ONE HEALTH
Canine and feline obesity:
a One Health perspective
OVER the past decade, there has been
a growing awareness of the need for
collaboration between the fields of human
and veterinary medicine. Initially, efforts
in this new area of One Health focused
on preventing the spread of disease from
farm animals and wild animals into human
populations. More recently, there has been a
growing awareness of the role of companion
animals in One Health.
Thus, in 2010, the World Small Animal
Veterinary Association (WSAVA) established
a One Health committee with the remit of
‘positioning small companion animals in
the global One Health framework’ (Day
2010). This committee has so far focused
on the spread of zoonotic diseases from
dogs, cats and other pet animals to humans.
However, it also envisions two other future
fields of work: comparative medicine and
the human-animal bond.
In both fields, however, the focus is
rather human-centred. According to the
chair of the committee, Michael Day, the
motivation for comparative medicine is that
‘The study of spontaneously arising canine
and feline diseases holds great potential for
understanding the human counterparts.’
The importance of studying the human-
animal bond is justified by reference to the
Recent years have seen a drastic increase in the rates of overweight and obesity among people living in some developed nations.
There has also been increased concern over obesity in companion animals. In the latest article in Veterinary Record’s series on
One Health, Peter Sandøe and colleagues argue that the relationship between obesity in people and in companion animals is
closer and more complex than previously thought, and that obesity should be treated as a One Health problem
Peter Sandøe, MA, DPhil,
Department of Food and Resource Economics and
Department of Large Animal Sciences, University of
Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
e-mail: pes@sund.ku.dk
Clare Palmer, BA (Hons), DPhil,
Department of Philosophy, Texas A & M University,
College Station, Texas, USA
Sandra Corr, BVMS, CertSAS, DipECVS, FHEA, PhD,
MRCVS,
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University
of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
Arne Astrup, MD, DMSc,
Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports,
University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Charlotte Reinhard Bjørnvad, DVM, PhD,
DiplECVCN,
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences,
University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
A cat weighing
more than 16 kg
relinquished to an
animal shelter in
the USA. Obesity
is increasingly
being recognised in
companion animals,
and the link between
obesity in pets and
their owners demands
a two-way approach
Photo: AP/Press Association Images
‘We cannot hope to understand
feline and canine obesity without
also knowing something about
human obesity, the social status of
owners, and the relationships that
humans actually have with their
dogs and cats’
concern. However, the human-centred One
Health approach, in which the study of
animal health is seen merely as a means to
improving human health, is questionable. In
this review of canine and feline obesity, we
argue that, through collaboration between
researchers in human and veterinary
medicine, optimal health for both humans
and animals can be achieved, and that this
should be seen as central to the One Health
concept (AVMA 2008). We will consider
One Health as a two-way affair. We will
not only look at how studying the effects of
overweight and obesity in dogs and cats can
contribute to understanding human health;
we will also consider how insights from the
study of human obesity can, in turn, benefit
dogs and cats. In addition, we will look
at how human obesity is connected with
weight problems in dogs and cats.
Defining overweight and obese
In dogs and cats, as in people, a distinction is
drawn between being overweight and being
obese. Being overweight can be defined as
having a body composition where the levels
of body fat exceed those considered optimal
‘benefit to human health and wellbeing
from association with pet animals’ (Day
2010). One of the key issues here, Professor
Day argues, is obesity: ‘probably the most
important health issue of man and pets in
Western countries is the shared epidemic
of obesity that is often directly related to
aspects of this shared lifestyle’ (Day 2010).
Professor Day’s last point here is
significant: obesity in humans, dogs and cats
is a major problem, and clearly a One Health
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for good health. Obesity can be defined as
being overweight to the extent that serious
effects on the individual’s health become
likely.
Values ranging from 15 to 30 per cent are
given in the literature for ‘optimal’ per cent
body fat in dogs and cats (Toll and others
2010, Bjørnvad and others 2011). However,
optimal per cent body fat seems to depend
on several factors, including the age, breed,
gender and physical fitness of the animal.
Furthermore, values will vary depending
upon the measurement technique used.
Techniques for measuring body fat
such as bioimpedance and dual energy
X-ray absorbtiometry (DEXA) scanning
have evolved from purely research tools to
tools used in human clinical practice. These
techniques are not yet widely available in
veterinary clinical practice, however, and so
veterinary practitioners still have to rely on
less advanced methods.
In humans, the Body Mass Index (BMI)
is, despite its limitations, widely used as a
practical method of assessment. However,
it is based solely on information about the
person’s weight and height, and so is not
remains to be seen. However, it may be
speculated that the obesity epidemic
observed in the human population, which
is partly attributed to the increasing
consumption of fast food, is not reflected in
the cat population, since cats, like dogs, are
fed commercial food which has centrally
regulated nutritional content. It could also be
speculated that since the feeding of dogs and
cats is similar across developed countries, the
prevalence of obesity could be more globally
homogeneous for companion animals than
for humans.
When it comes to monitoring the
extent of weight problems in dogs and
cats, the veterinary world clearly lags far
behind the world of human medicine. Most
animal studies are based on questionnaires,
and next to nothing is known about the
geographic distribution of weight problems,
or their development over time. There is
no universally accepted scale for defining
of body fat, despite what appears to be
a healthy bodyweight. ‘Skinny fat’ or
‘sarcopenic obesity’ could, as in the case of
humans, predispose to type 2 diabetes and
other serious health problems in cats (Heber
and others 1996).
Scale of the problem
A number of studies have been undertaken
in North America, Europe and Australia
– mainly on dogs – to determine what
proportion of animals are overweight or
obese. The reported prevalence was between
22 per cent and 44 per cent (Mason 1970,
Edney and Smith 1986, Hand and others
1989, Crane 1991, Kronfeld and others
1991, Sloth 1992, Robertson 2003, Lund
and others 2005, 2006, McGreevy and
others 2005).
Differences in the prevalence of animals
being overweight or obese reported in the
literature may reflect differences in sampling,
in who has been asked (owners or vets), or
genuine local variations. After all, dramatic
regional variations are found in the levels of
human obesity: in adults in the USA levels
are over 30 per cent, compared to between
8 per cent and 25 per cent in European
countries, and less than 5 per cent in some
Asian countries, such as Japan (WHO 2012).
However, it is not known whether similar
regional differences are found in dogs.
None of the aforementioned studies
report on whether there is a general trend
for increasing obesity among companion
animals. To the best of our knowledge, this
has been considered in only a single study
that investigated the prevalence of obesity in
populations of urban cats in New Zealand,
using the same demographic area, design
and questionnaire, 15 years apart. The
authors hypothesised that an increased use
of commercial, energy-dense ‘premium’
dry food could lead to a higher prevalence
of obesity (Cave and others 2012). To the
surprise of the authors, however, despite the
change in general feeding practice, there was
no increase in the levels of obesity.
Whether this finding reflects obesity
development in other pet populations
‘There is not a universally accepted
scale for defining overweight or
obesity in cats and dogs ,and data
from small animal veterinary clinics
are, with a few exceptions, not
shared. On all counts more could and
should be done’
‘If an owner weighs too much it is
more likely that their dog will also
be overweight or obese’
overweight or obesity in cats and dogs, and
data from small animal veterinary clinics are,
with a few exceptions, not shared. On all
counts more could and should be done.
Why should we care?
One reason for being concerned about
human weight is that obesity is the main
driver of the increased incidence of type
2 diabetes, and also poses a substantially
increased risk of cardiovascular disease,
several cancers, asthmatic disease, sleep
apnoea, osteoarthritis, infertility, and a
reduced life expectancy of five to 10 years,
depending on severity (Bauer and others
2014). These health problems are not only
of a physical nature – severe psychological
and social problems, including depression,
stigmatisation and suicide, may arise from
being obese (Pedersen and others 2012).
In the case of dogs and cats, being
overweight is obviously not linked to
An overweight pug. A
range of factors have been
found to influence canine
obesity, breed being one
of them. Dogs of certain
breeds seem to be more
prone to weight gain than
others
Photo: Matthew Beck/AP/Press Association Images
easily transferable, particularly to dogs, as
there are diverse breeds with very different
body conformations.
Several alternative morphometric
methods have been proposed for assessing
the relative weight of dogs and cats. The
Body Condition Scores (BCSs), developed
for both dogs and cats, are the most widely
used. The BCSs use a number of categories,
ranging from ‘emaciated’ to ‘severely obese’,
based on subjective assessment of specific
features. These features include the shape
of the animal viewed from above, and
how easily palpable the ribs are (Laflamme
1997, McGreevy and others 2005, Toll and
others 2010). Studies have shown that such
measures correlate well with more advanced
measurements of the amount of body fat,
and, in general, there is good agreement
between measurements across different users
(German and others 2006).
A recent Danish study (Bjørnvad and
others 2011) of indoor-confined, adult
neutered cats found that the BCS tended
to underestimate the level of body fat as
measured using a DEXA scanner. The
authors proposed that, due to a lack of
exercise, these cats were ‘skinny fat’. As
observed in humans, physical inactivity
may result in a decrease in lean bodymass,
causing a relatively higher percentage
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problems such as low self-esteem and
stigmatisation. However, a substantial
body of veterinary literature documents
that obesity in dogs and cats increases the
risk of health problems. These problems
include ‘orthopaedic disease, diabetes
mellitus, abnormalities in circulating lipid
profiles, cardiorespiratory disease, urinary
disorders, reproductive disorders, neoplasia
(mammary tumours and transitional cell
carcinoma), dermatological diseases, and
anaesthetic complications’ (German 2006).
These conditions not only shorten the
expected lifespan of the affected animals,
but also reduce their health-related quality
of life, so obesity in cats and dogs has
restricted diet (Hubert and others 2000).
In a series of papers, Kealy and others
(2002) and Lawler and others (2005, 2008)
reported the results of a longitudinal study
of two randomly selected groups of labrador
retriever dogs, with 24 dogs in each group
treated identically apart from their feeding
regime. One group was initially fed ad
libitum, then fed at a level at which they
stayed overweight but did not become obese
(mean BCS 6.5 on a scale ranging from 1
emaciated, to 9 severely obese). The other
group was fed 25 per cent less than the first
group throughout the study. Dogs in the
latter group remained leaner and lived longer
(median lifespan of 13 years compared to
11.2 years for the moderately overweight
group). In addition, where the dogs in the
leaner group developed the same diseases
(primarily osteoarthritis) as those in the
overweight group, the onset of disease came
later and the signs of the diseases were less
severe.
Thus, overweight and obese companion
animals lose out both in terms of health-
related quality of life and life expectancy.
On the other hand, work with rodents and
pigs also indicates that a restrictive diet of
the sort that secures maximum longevity
and minimum morbidity causes welfare
problems in the form of increased hunger,
and derived effects such as increased
aggression, elevated levels of stress and the
development of stereotypies (D’Eath and
others 2009, Kasanen and others 2010).
Assuming the same conclusions apply to
dogs and cats, there may be a real dilemma
here between two of the five freedoms used
to define animal welfare (FAWC 2009):
it may not always be possible to secure
freedom from both hunger and disease.
D’Eath and others (2009) have argued
that this is a significant dilemma in respect
to keeping laboratory, companion and
some farm animals. Kasanen and others
(2010) state that ‘One could argue that the
best solution is simply to proceed with
feeding ad libitum, allowing the rats to
be fat and friendly rather than lean and
mean. A similar line of thought seems to
apply to fattening pigs.’ This solution may
be appropriate for farm and laboratory
animals, which are killed at a relatively
young age before they develop conditions
such as osteoarthritis or heart disease;
however, this does not apply to cats and
dogs that normally live until they either die
spontaneously or are euthanased because of
disease at an old age. In 2013, the average life
span of dogs in USA was reported to be 11
years and of cats 12 years (Banfield 2013).
Of course, there may be ways to make
the dilemma between preventing hunger and
protecting health less stark. Animals may be
able to eat more without detrimental effects
to their health if they also exercise more, or
are fed low-calorie bulk diets that nonetheless
provide a feeling of satiety. They could also
be made to work for their food, thereby
engaging in more feeding-related behaviours
without getting too much food. However,
this does not resolve the issue of which
feeding strategy provides optimal welfare.
In fact, determining the optimal feeding
strategy may depend on how welfare is
defined. If welfare is defined in terms of
fitness and function, then a very restricted
feeding regime may be optimal. In contrast,
if welfare is defined as getting the maximum
amount of pleasure and the minimum
amount of frustration or pain – either in total
over a full life or per year lived – then a more
liberal feeding regime may be preferable, as
the avoidance of disease should be balanced
against the potential frustration and stress
relating to hunger. However, many dogs and
cats end up becoming so fat that the negative
health effects of obesity probably ultimately
outweigh any satisfaction gained from eating.
Risk factors
For dogs and cats, as for humans, obesity is
a multifactorial problem, and some of the
factors are similar between the species. A
number of potentially related risk factors
may be relevant including genetics, sex
status, exercise, and owner characteristics
and behaviours.
Studies suggest that some dog and cat
breeds have a higher propensity to becoming
overweight and obese than others (Mason
1970, Edney and Smith 1986, Lund and
others 2005, 2006, O’Neill and others
2014). For example, among dogs, labrador
and golden retrievers are notoriously at
risk. Further studies on the genetic basis of
considerable potential to cause suffering.
One questionnaire-based study (German
and others 2012b) tried to assess the health-
related quality of life of dogs following
weight loss. A clear correlation was found
between a reduction in weight and fat
mass and an increase in vitality. It was also
found that dogs showed fewer signs of
being emotionally disturbed and of being
in pain following a successful weight loss
programme.
Even being moderately overweight
seems to have a negative effect on animal
health; for example, rodents fed ad libitum
have a shorter lifespan than those on a
‘There may be a real dilemma here
between two of the five freedoms
used to define animal welfare:
it may not always be possible to
secure freedom from both hunger
and disease’
obesity in dogs and cats would be useful,
and these could be of relevance for humans
where genetics also seem to play a role
in the development of obesity (Stunkard
and others 1986, Elks and others 2012,
Switonski and Mankowska 2013).
As in humans, it is hypothesised that
a lack of exercise not only predisposes to
higher levels of obesity in dogs and cats,
but also exacerbates health problems
linked to being overweight (German 2006).
In cats, indoor confinement increased
the risk of developing diabetes mellitus
(Slingerland and others 2007). This could
relate to the cats being more obese due to
inactivity (Allan and others 2000), perhaps
in combination with sarcopenic obesity.
In dogs, weight loss improved certain
markers of cardiopulmonary function, and
the dogs performed progressively better in
a six-minute walk test during the weight
loss programme (Manens and others 2014).
However, studies on the possible beneficial
‘Dogs showed fewer signs of being
emotionally disturbed and of being
in pain following a successful weight
loss programme’
A dog eating from a maze bowl. One feeding
strategy could be to allow pets to work for their
food, thereby engaging in more feeding-related
behaviours without them getting too much food
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effects of physical activity are generally
lacking for dogs and cats.
As well as causing disease, obesity
may be the result of disease. For example
hypothyroidism decreases metabolism
and activity levels, resulting in obesity, and
hyperadrenocorticism causes weight gain
due to a cortisol-driven increase in appetite.
Obesity predisposes to osteoarthritis, and
it is likely that osteoarthritis promotes the
development of obesity by restricting the
animal’s willingness or ability to move
(Marshall and others 2009).
In the case of dogs and cats, neutering is
also a risk factor for obesity. Even though it
is possible through careful feeding to keep
neutered cats and dogs at their ideal weight
(provided that they do not scavenge), in
practice, neutered dogs and cats are much
more likely to be overweight or obese than
intact ones (Nguyen and others 2004, Lund
and others 2006).
Finally, a number of particular
characteristics of the owners of cats and dogs
may increase the risk of their companion
animals becoming obese.
First, studies have found a relationship
between obesity in dogs and their owners
(but not in cats): if an owner weighs too
much it is more likely that their dog will
also be overweight or obese (Mason 1970,
Kienzle and others 1998, Colliard and others
2006, Nijland and others 2010).
The same phenomenon is found in the
relationship between humans. One study
found that a person’s risk of becoming obese
increased by 57 per cent if he or she had an
obese friend (Christakis and Fowler 2007).
Among pairs of siblings, the risk of one
sibling becoming obese increased by 40 per
cent if the other was already obese. Similarly,
if one spouse was obese, the risk of the other
becoming obese was increased by 37 per
cent compared to having a spouse of normal
weight (Christakis and Fowler 2007).
Secondly, studies seem to indicate a link
with the owner’s income: the poorer the
owner, the more likely it is that both the
owner and the companion weigh too much
(Kienzle and others 1998, Courcier and
others 2010).
These two findings reflect the well-
documented but complex relationship
between obesity and low social status in
humans (Paeratakul and others 2002, Robert
and Reither 2004, Bove and Olson 2006,
McLaren 2007), and it is not surprising
that habits and constraints in people’s own
lives influence how they view and treat the
animals in their care.
So far we have considered social,
demographic and physiological factors that
seem to increase the risk of an owner having
an overweight companion animal. Now
we will take a closer look at the possible
psychological mechanisms that may be
involved, connected to the human-animal
bond.
Human-animal bond
A possible link between obesity and the
human-animal bond was noted by Shearer
(2010), who suggested that owners of
overweight cats and dogs use food as an
acceptable form of communication and
interaction with their pets. Similarly,
Kienzle and others (1998) found that obese
dogs were more often present when the
a transfer of the owners’ eating habits and
attitude to health to their dogs.
A follow-up study of cats by the same
German group found a number of similarities
between the human factors involved in dogs
and cats becoming overweight, in particular,
the tendency to humanise the animals and
communicate through food. Thirty per cent
of owners of overweight cats, compared
with 12 per cent of owners of normal weight
cats, stated that they had not felt very happy
before acquiring a cat, and the cat was
intended to console and encourage them. The
authors seem to assume that the cats fulfilled
this role of consolation and encouragement,
and proposed that ‘the results are suggestive
of (1) a closer relationship between
overweight cats and their owners than
between normal cats and their owners,
(2) more humanisation of overweight cats
than of normal cats, (3) a potential role of
overweight cats as a substitute for human
companions’ (Kienzle and Bergler 2006).
Another interesting finding in the case
of overweight cats had to do with gender:
more of the overweight cats (97 per cent)
were owned by females than were normal
weight cats (87 per cent). According to
Kienzle and Bergler (2006), this may be
linked to the results of other studies showing
that women tend to have closer relationships
with their cats than men do (Bergler 1989).
While the owners of the obese dogs
studied by Kienzle and others (1998)
tended to be more obese, to care less about
their own health and were generally less
financially well off than owners of normal
dogs, these differences were not found in
the case of cat owners. The authors suggest
that people who are not overweight or
obese themselves easily find other ways of
engaging with dogs than through food, for
example by taking them for walks; however,
people are less aware of alternative ways of
interacting with cats, making feeding the
main contact point between many cats and
their owners. That owners of overweight
cats tend to communicate with their cats via
feeding is further supported by the finding
that they were more likely to serve the cat
An owner walks her dog
during a blizzard. Studies
have found a positive
correlation between
owning a dog and getting
more exercise from
walking, which may
prevent lifestyle-related
diseases in people
Photo: Mel Evans/AP/Press Association Images
‘Obese dogs slept more often on
their owners’ beds, and that their
owners spoke more often and on
a greater variety of subjects to
their dogs, and were less afraid of
contracting diseases from their dogs,
than were owners of dogs of normal
weight’
- Kienzle and others (1998)
owner prepared or ate their own meals, and
were fed tidbits then, leading the authors to
suggest that ‘owners of obese dogs tend to
interpret their dog’s every need as a request
for food’.
Kienzle and others (1998) reported
that obese dogs slept more often on their
owners’ beds, and that their owners spoke
more often and on a greater variety of
subjects to their dogs, and were less afraid of
contracting diseases from their dogs, than
were owners of dogs of normal weight.
Owners of obese dogs also saw the animals
as less important in relation to traditional
dog roles such as sources of exercise, work
and protection. The authors interpreted
these differences as indicators of what they
called ‘overhumanising’: ‘The obese dogs
were indulged as “fellow-humans” and they
were no longer treated as typical companion
animals.’
This study also confirmed the finding
that owners of obese dogs tend to be obese
themselves, and that they took little interest
in their own health compared to owners
of normal-weight dogs. Therefore, Kienzle
and others conclude, part of the explanation
of the behaviour of owners of obese dogs is
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homemade food and to make food available
ad libitum, and less prone to play with their
cats (Kienzle and Bergler 2006). It should
be added that all of the cats in the study
were indoor cats; and this, of course, limits
opportunities for exercise.
It has also been suggested that ‘cat owners
were less aware of their pet’s weight problem
than dog owners’ (Kienzle and Bergler 2006).
There may be different reasons for this: cats
sleep a lot, hide signs of illness more than
that owners of overweight or obese dogs
underestimate the body condition of their
animals (Rohlf and others 2010, White and
others 2011) and cats (Allan and others 2000,
Kienzle and Bergler 2006). Furthermore,
practising vets may fail to identify overweight
animals. In one study, 28.7 per cent of
the feline patients were scored as being
overweight by means of a BCS while only
1.4 per cent of these feline patients were
given the diagnosis ‘overweight’ by the
practising vet, indicating that the veterinarian
did not address the weight as part of the cats’
problems (Lund and others 2005).
The number of studies on the social and
psychological mechanisms underlying the
way people feed their companion animals
remains small, and further factors will
probably be identified as new research is
undertaken. However, what is abundantly
clear from these studies is that we cannot
hope to understand feline and canine obesity
without also knowing something about
human obesity, the social status of owners,
and the relationships that humans actually
have with their dogs and cats. This, we
suggest, strongly supports our two-way
approach to One Health.
What can and should be done?
It is clearly difficult for some cat and dog
owners to prevent their companions from
becoming overweight, especially if they are
highly attached to their animal, have strong
empathetic responses to it, and regard food as
a primary means of communication with it.
One difficulty is that, for various
reasons, the fact that their cat or dog is
overweight or obese does not matter to the
same degree to all owners. Some people
lack the financial or personal resources to
deal with their own health, or that of their
family, and so the health of their companion
animals may not be high on their agenda.
But the issue of weight control itself
is also controversial: some people and
groups resist the idea that it is inevitably
problematic for someone to be overweight
or obese. For example, in the USA, various
movements have developed in favour of
so-called ‘fat acceptance’ (Kirkland 2008),
arguing that size is no more justifiable
a reason for discrimination or prejudice
than height, sex or skin colour. They resist
the medicalisation of being large, arguing
that fat people are normal people in large
bodies, who are capable of living good lives
and making a contribution workwise and
otherwise. In light of this, similar attitudes
could develop in relation to companion
animal obesity. The feline cartoon character
Garfield may be a good example of an obese
inactive cat that, despite his attitude, is seen
as sympathetic; indeed, in virtue of being an
obese cat, he may be viewed as having more
personality than normal cats.
However, given the health implications
and potential suffering that being obese
presents for cats and dogs, and also that
many owners will be concerned about
these risks to their companions, strategies
for weight control are clearly needed. A
number of strategies can be adopted. First, a
balanced feeding regime is required from the
beginning of the animal’s life; the animal
should be regularly weighed and feeding
adjusted accordingly. Where possible, leaving
an animal intact, rather than neutering it,
would reduce the likelihood of it becoming
overweight. If the animal is neutered, then
its food intake should be reduced. Regular
exercise and other activities will also help to
prevent the animal becoming overweight. It
is particularly important in the case of cats
to find ways of engaging with them that are
not linked to feeding, for example through
various forms of training and playing,
especially if they are not allowed outdoors.
When it comes to people exercising their
dogs, the benefits are clearly mutual. Studies
have documented a positive correlation
between having a dog and getting exercise
from walking, which in turn is likely to have
‘The feline cartoon character Garfield
may be a good example of an obese
inactive cat that, despite his attitude,
is seen as sympathetic; indeed, in
virtue of being an obese cat, he
may be viewed as having more
personality than normal cats’
dogs, and appear less often in public with
their owners than dogs, and are therefore less
likely to attract comments from other people.
Just as one would like to think that
very few parents intentionally allow their
children to become obese, it seems unlikely
that many dog and cat owners intentionally
compromise the welfare and health of their
companions by overfeeding them. Rather,
it seems that owners of fat companions
may overfeed their animals due to a number
of factors, over some of which they have
limited control, much in the same way as
they are drawn into overfeeding themselves
and their children.
So, in the same way that parents
of overweight children consistently
underestimate their children’s weight (Etelson
and others 2003), a number of studies show
an effect on the prevention of a number of
human lifestyle-related diseases (Coleman
and others 2008, Cutt and others 2008,
Hoerster and others 2011, Lentino and
others 2012). Similar effects, in terms of
reducing lifestyle-related diseases have also
been documented for children (Owen and
others 2010).
As many people do not recognise that
their companion animals are overweight
or obese, or seem unable to manage their
animal’s weight, vets have an important
role to play in highlighting the problem
when the animals are brought to the clinic
for vaccination or regular health checks. A
number of approaches have been developed
to help owners and vets address the issue
of pets being overweight and obese, both
through collaboration with pet food
companies and through development of
practice-friendly guidelines from central
veterinary organisations (Freeman and
others 2011, Brooks and others 2014).
First, tools such as the BCS have been
developed to enable owners to check
whether their companion is a healthy size.
Secondly, low calorie, high fibre and
moderate to high protein diets have been
developed, comparable to ‘light’ products for
human consumption. Most large commercial
pet food companies now produce a range of
specific restricted calorie foods for dogs and
cats, some of which are prescription-only,
An overweight golden retriever being exercised
in a pool. This animal weighs more than twice
what would be considered a healthy weight for
the breed
Photo: Mel Evans/AP/Press Association Images
‘As many people do not recognise
that their companion animals are
overweight or obese, or seem
unable to manage their animal’s
weight, vets have an important role
to play in highlighting the problem’
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Feature
persevering with such a programme can be
challenging, as it takes many months for
noticeable weight loss to occur, and owners
must remain extremely motivated. A key
element of such a programme is, therefore,
regular engagement with staff at a veterinary
or special weight control clinic. As in the
case of human obesity, the difficulty is not
primarily to obtain an initial weight loss:
the real challenge is to maintain the reduced
bodyweight by sustained long-term changes
in lifestyle (German and others 2012a).
It is well established that if some
family members are enrolled in a weight
loss programme, the remaining family
members will also tend to lose weight, due
to a spillover of more healthy habits, and a
family awareness of weight issues. It seems
likely that a similar phenomenon could
influence the weight of companion animals
in the household.
A striking feature of all these proposed
solutions is that they appeal to individual
actions, and do not consider the political,
social and related human issues that seem to
underlie the problem. It may be necessary
for people to be able to recognise and tackle
their own unhealthy lifestyles before they
can recognise and address the problems
related to the overfeeding of their animal
companions. Tackling these social issues
will require far wider-ranging solutions.
Finally, given these social issues, it
is important to avoid moralising, that is,
condemning people for doing what they
(to some degree, at least) cannot help doing.
There have been cases, in Sweden and the
UK (Kulick 2009), where obese pets have
been forcibly removed from their owners
by the authorities. While this may be
necessary if the animal’s welfare is severely
threatened, it cannot be a general solution to
the widespread problem of canine and feline
obesity.
Condemning owners of fat companions
without either helping them or addressing
the underlying social problems may simply
worsen the stigmatisation and low self-
esteem that obese people already face in
many societies (Puhl and Brownell 2006).
Instead, solutions must be identified to solve
the underlying problem, and enable owners
of cats and dogs to develop a healthy lifestyle
for themselves and their companions – the
kind of project that could lie at the heart of a
two-way approach to One Health.
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problems related to the overfeeding
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doi: 10.1136/vr.g7521
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Canine and feline obesity: a One Health
Reinhard Bjørnvad
Peter Sandøe, Clare Palmer, Sandra Corr, Arne Astrup and Charlotte
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7521
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