Research Finds 1 In 3 American Cats and Dogs Are Overweight (arstechnica.com)

After surveying 2.5 million dogs and 500,000 cats in the U.S. last year, a group of researchers found that about one in three were overweight or obese. "Looking over data from the last decade, the researchers say the new figures reveal a 169-percent increase in hefty felines and a 158-percent increase in chunky canines," reports Ars Technica. From the report: All the data is from researchers at Banfield, which runs a chain of veterinary hospitals across 42 states. The researchers surveyed animals that checked into one of Banfield's 975 locations, putting them through a five-point physical and visual exam. Animals were considered overweight if their ribs were not clearly visible or easily felt and if their waists were also hard to see. Pets were dubbed obese if their ribs couldn't be felt at all and they had no visible waist. As in humans, being overweight makes pets more prone to chronic health conditions. Also similar to humans, doctors blame pets' weight problems on overfeeding and lack of exercise. Other contributing factors include genetics and health issues such as arthritis, which can make play painful. Last, some pet owners may not be able to spot weight issues in their pets -- particularly because so many more dogs and cats are now overweight, making chubby pets the new norm. Dog breeds with the highest prevalence of obesity are Labrador Retrievers, Cairn Terriers, and Cocker Spaniels, the researchers report. For cats, the fattest breeds are Manx and Maine Coons.

Comments

Really?

[Circlotron]

Stuff that matters alright!

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut up fatty!

Re: Really?

[dougdonovan]

actually, our cat does matter to us. my wife even has insurance on him. do you have any idea how much vets make. its a social status thing.

Re: Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

actually, our cat does matter to us. my wife even has insurance on him. do you have any idea how much vets make. its a social status thing.

Uh, what is a social status thing? Owning a cat, or paying for pet insurance?

To each their own I guess.

Re: Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone who is married to a vet, I can say they make far more money off of people buy pure-bred (inbred, she says) animals than anything else. Flat-faced dogs? Almost guaranteed breathing issues. Sure we can fix that up. Schnauzer? Enjoy your cancer treatments later on. Etc. etc.

Re:Really?

[Circlotron]

I hadn't noticed that the byline "news for nerds, stuff that matters" has been removed from the home page. Makes my OP somewhat irrelevant. My bad.

Re:Really?

[Topwiz]

It is in the html title tag of the home page as well as in a meta tag.

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

I doubt they know how to change those.

Re:Really?

[hawkfish]

Stuff that matters alright!

Not to mention the obvious survivor bias. Pets taken in to the vet are much more likely to be ill in some manner. Especially since most people are even less likely to go to the vet than a human doctor (no insurance).

Re:Really?

[strikethree]

Of course it doesn't matter. We all know that all pets are purely gluttonous pigs that will eat until it kills them (actually, some pets WILL do this). No our pets should be shamed for not watching their weight. I mean, who cares if what is sold as cat food is essentially the same fillers that they put in the rest of our food. Who cares if there is a correlation between what is sold as food, whether for pets or for ourselves, and obesity? No. It is your failing. You are not working hard enough to ensure that you do not look like a huge fat pig ready for slaughter. You are the failure. The fact that the food is filled with sawdust and other biologically inert compounds to increase profits has nothing to do with it. No. It is all about how you and your pets are worthless pieces of shit.

TL;DR, Why the fuck is this on Slashdot and how would any nerd possibly care about this subject?

Re: Really?

[Hognoxious]

What social status in conveyed by the inability to use the shift key?

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Animal abuse kind of matters to me. Can't speak for everyone, obviously.

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

People overfeeding their pets because they've completely lost sight of what constitutes reasonable portion sizes and exercise proves it's not my fault I consume too many calories.

Re: Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

The same as being unable to tell "in" from "is"...

Not really surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

In families with at least one obese person, usually EVERYONE in the family is obese - even small children, who obviously aren't making their own dietary decisions. It doesn't surprise me that the pets are obese, too.

Re:Not really surprising

[guises]

My father's perspective has become skewed enough that he doesn't understand what a healthy weight looks like. It's not surprising to me that his dogs are all fat, though he denies it and decries other people for under-feeding their dogs because, "You can see their ribs."

Re:Not really surprising

[havana9]

You have to also consider the genetics factor, that has to be added to behavioural one.
When I was living in the country side I've always had a a couple of cat as pet and for mousing. I gave them some food but in a spotty fashion to make the interested to catch the vermin, Naturally they were vaccinated and if they were ill I called the vet. They were big and fat, even if I was giving them a small quantity of food, but I think that being kept sane and with a lot of live food to choose make them to gain weight.

Re:Not really surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

No, they're just "genetically predisposed" to overeating.

How much you weigh = Sum (Calories In - Calories Out) for your entire life, +/- water retention.

Re:Not really surprising

[Gavagai80]

It's a factor, but you're exaggerating. Research suggests 48 percent of children with overweight parents become overweight, compared with 13 percent of those with normal-weight parents.

Re:Not really surprising

[sound vision]

That's an almost fourfold increase, it sounds more like you're minimizing.

Re:Not really surprising

[ranton]

That's an almost fourfold increase, it sounds more like you're minimizing.

He was replying to a post that said "In families with at least one obese person, usually EVERYONE in the family is obese". Clearly if only half of children of overweight parents become overweight, then the original post was absolutely exaggerating. Since under half of families with overweight parents have overweight children his claim that the OP was exaggerating was spot on.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

A big part of it is that people are incredibly ignorant of how much exercise a healthy dog actually needs. They think that if they walk until the human is tired then the dog got a good workout. Which is a bit like an olympic athlete training for an event by going for a walk with his grandmother.

A large part of the problem, though, is pet food feeding guidelines. If you feed a typical pet what the bag says, 90% of the time you'll get an obese pet. Heck, if you feed most active dogs what the bag says, you'll get a fat dog.

Re:Not really surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

Good points. We take our dogs to an off-leash park and let them go until they come back to us when they've had enough. It's not hard to tell. If I jogged and sprinted in bursts for 30 minutes, I'd be dead.

Re:Not really surprising

[jittles]

In families with at least one obese person, usually EVERYONE in the family is obese - even small children, who obviously aren't making their own dietary decisions. It doesn't surprise me that the pets are obese, too.

Interestingly enough, the article I read on the subject said that the State of Colorado has the fittest humans in the US and also the most obese cats and dogs. So that is actually contrary to your statement. In fact, in my experience walking my dog and meeting other dog owners, it usually is the pet who is fat and the owner skinny when running into people who regularly walk their dog. I think the problem is likely due to overfeeding and, in the case of a woman I met on Monday, giving too many treats to the dog. That particular dog has pancreatitis, probably from too many fatty treats!

Re:Not really surprising

[jittles]

A big part of it is that people are incredibly ignorant of how much exercise a healthy dog actually needs. They think that if they walk until the human is tired then the dog got a good workout. Which is a bit like an olympic athlete training for an event by going for a walk with his grandmother.

A large part of the problem, though, is pet food feeding guidelines. If you feed a typical pet what the bag says, 90% of the time you'll get an obese pet. Heck, if you feed most active dogs what the bag says, you'll get a fat dog.

Unfortunately, my dog is old enough that I can now out walk her most summer days. During the winter, I can't keep up with the poor beast. She just doesn't tolerate heat like she used to. But you're right, most dogs are overfed. I'm fortunate enough that my dog only eats what she thinks is necessary. We walk about 5 miles a day and I leave unlimited food out for her 24/7. Most people I know would have an extremely overweight dog by now, but she eats very carefully.

Re:Not really surprising

[stabiesoft]

Read the article. Pet weight did not track. In areas with very high people obesity, pet obesity was low, and vice versa. Interesting. Although some of that I think the heavy people areas are places where people have the animals work, IE hunt. Hunting dogs are very lean machines.

Re:Not really surprising

[avandesande]

It's the quality of the food itself that is the issue. A lot of dog food is now filled with cheap grains that make the dog overweight and diabetic. I have a corgi (which are known for overeating) and her food bowl is always full. Because I buy her quality food she only picks at it and maintains a healthy weight.

Interestingly enough this same issue is what is driving the human obesity epidemic.

Re:Not really surprising

[Chris Mattern]

Actually, no. The article notes that households where the members are of healthy weight are more likely to have overweight pets.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

I have a corgi (which are known for overeating) and her food bowl is always full. Because I buy her quality food she only picks at it and maintains a healthy weight.

You can sometimes get away with free feeding if you have a single dog (but don't try it with a Beagle). In fact, single dogs are often underweight because they're under no pressure to eat everything at a time.

It usually doesn't work in multi-dog households.

The main argument against free feeding is that it makes it a lot harder to catch health problems, and in emergencies you have trouble answering questions like "when did your dog last eat?"

Re:Not really surprising

[avandesande]

Yes you are right about that- she was under a lot more pressure when we had another dog which passed away last year. I WFH and she practically spends every minute with me so it's easy to keep track of her habits :-) Definitely saw a real improvement in both dogs though when I switched foods.

Re:Not really surprising

[Ranbot]

A large part of the problem, though, is pet food feeding guidelines. If you feed a typical pet what the bag says, 90% of the time you'll get an obese pet. Heck, if you feed most active dogs what the bag says, you'll get a fat dog.

Yes. The feeding guidelines on dog food bags are typically double what an average dog actually needs, even for active dogs. The dog food companies have a financial incentive to try to make the serving size larger and there are no organizations watching them to verify their recommendations are legit (like the FDA for human food). And then some owners give lots of treats and table scraps to dogs but rarely track the amount, so it's no surprise many dogs get obese.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

The feeding guidelines on dog food bags are typically double what an average dog actually needs, even for active dogs.

The only time I've come even close to feeding manufacturer recommended amounts was with 2-3 year old dogs doing weekly flyball tournaments, agility trials, and practices, plus training and hard daily conditioning.

Re:Not really surprising

[HornWumpus]

Dogs get fat from table scraps. Fatties go 'timeless blur' and only re-awake when the food is gone, none for the dog.

Re:Not really surprising

[slinches]

I have two dogs and free feed with no issues. One of them is defensive of food around new dogs, too. It just took a little time to let them get acclimated to each other and now they eat out of each other's bowls without a second thought.

I may just be lucky that my dogs have compatible personalities, though. I could see it becoming an issue if one dog is strongly food aggressive and the other is very passive. Both of mine will tell the other off when they need to.

Re:Not really surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

Obesity is 99% overfeeding, 1% lack of excessive. Get yourself a scale and adjust diet weekly based on weight trend. Not rocket science.

Re:Not really surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

But muh juhnetiks.

Re:Not really surprising

[Thelasko]

A large part of the problem, though, is pet food feeding guidelines. If you feed a typical pet what the bag says, 90% of the time you'll get an obese pet. Heck, if you feed most active dogs what the bag says, you'll get a fat dog.

You think people measure out food? I bet 1 in 3 pet owner's don't. Or if they do, they feed table scraps as well.

If you own a cat or dog, go to the dollar store and get a cheap set of dry measuring cups. Then measure out the food! If your pet gets too fat or skinny, adjust the quantity.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

If you own a cat or dog, go to the dollar store and get a cheap set of dry measuring cups. Then measure out the food!

You missed a step.

First, figure out the calorie requirements of your pet (there's calculators available on the web), then use the kcal/cup values listed on the bag to determine how much you should be measuring out, then measure out the amounts.

Or maybe that's just me...

Re:Not really surprising

[Thelasko]

If you own a cat or dog, go to the dollar store and get a cheap set of dry measuring cups. Then measure out the food!

You missed a step.

First, figure out the calorie requirements of your pet (there's calculators available on the web), then use the kcal/cup values listed on the bag to determine how much you should be measuring out, then measure out the amounts.

Or maybe that's just me...

That's a good start. There's usually a recommendation on the bag. Although individual pets may vary. You will likely need to adjust the quantity.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

There's usually a recommendation on the bag.

The recommendations on the bag is a major part of why there's an obesity epidemic in pets.

Re:Not really surprising

[Swave An deBwoner]

A small kitchen scale that reads out in grams is much more accurate than trying to measure kibble by volume in a measuring cup.

Re:Not really surprising

[c]

Unless you're making your own pet food, that level of precision is massive overkill. Heck, it's overkill even if you are making your own pet food.

Re:Not really surprising

[Swave An deBwoner]

I find it simpler:

1. put dish on scale
2. turn on scale (automatically tare is zero)
3. add food to desired weight
4. serve :-)

Especially for smaller portions, this easily beats trying to read the volume of a bunch of kibble or a dollop of canned food.

Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't let them out to roam, they won't get enough exercise. No other country treats cats as indoor-only pets

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

There are other countries that do see them as indoor pets... if you let them out they just kill for fun... why let the native animals suffer?

Cats are evil... and should not be outside!!

Be a responsible pet owner and put it on a leash and take it for a walk... yes walking without a destination, might seem pointless but it's good for you and your pet..

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Birds kill birds, insects and bees. Bees are vital to farming and our food supply; culling birds is a good thing, likewise with vermin such as rats and mice.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Cat owners in the US tend to have the claws removed to protect the furniture. Once mutilated they have no way to protect themselves, and cannot even climb trees or fences - something in their very nature.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Cat owners in the US tend to have the claws removed to protect the furniture. Once mutilated they have no way to protect themselves, and cannot even climb trees or fences - something in their very nature.

False, very few people actually have this done to their pets as it is viewed as cruel by most vets.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Gavagai80]

You've both managed to be wrong. A quick google shows that about 20-25% of USA domestic cats are declawed.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Cat owners in the US tend to have the claws removed to protect the furniture.

So that more furniture remains for the cats? How thoughtful!

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Here in Canada, many vets refuse to declaw as it often comes with life-long pain and other issues. It is similar to removing a person's fingers at the last knuckle before the fingernails.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[MikeB0Lton]

It's cruel if it is done wrong. If the vet does it correctly using a scalpel, which costs a lot more money, it is perfectly fine and the cat heals up fast.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Quirkz]

When I got mine, the shelter told me that the life expectancy of an outdoor cat is half that of an indoor cat. So, did I want to have a companion for 8 years or 16? Seemed like an easy choice. Also, I was living in Chicago at the time, so there wasn't really a good/useful place to let them out anyway.

I'm in semi-rural Colorado now, and with all the predators out here, it still seems like a bad idea. There are missing cat posters up in my neighborhood monthly.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Others have already debunked this stupidity, but here is a quote from the ASPCA:

"On average, cats who are allowed to roam outdoors often don't live to see age five. Cats who are always kept safely confined can live to be 18 to 20 years old."

I had a cat for 16 years, kept safely indoors, never exceeded 9 pounds.

Outdoor cats also kill a surprisingly high number of prey, also, even if they are not hungry - it's instinctive for them. In the U.S., even though many cats are kept indoors, outdoor cats kill 4 billion animals a year. So there's that also.

Of course this is excuse 1,000,000 for foreigners to think they are somehow "superior" to Americans in some b.s way.

Cats should be kept indoors, societies that let them roam freely have it wrong.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[HornWumpus]

Your cat hates you. You are it's jailer.

Stockholm syndrome is the only reason it lets you pet it.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

According to a survey with a small sample size.

The number could be even higher or lower, its hard to tell from an informal survey. I can tell you in my experience that I have yet to meet a vet that is willing to declaw. The two vets I used in my last state refused without a medical need for it. I dont know about my current vet near my new home as my cat is elderly but I know I saw pamphlets advocating against declawing in the waiting room.

Ive actually been under the assumption that it is not very common anymore, at least here in the midwest. Can't really let your cat out of the house with no claws. Maybe its bigger out in Cali.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope. Even done by the best surgeon in the world, it's still equivalent to having your fingers amputated at the end knuckle. Will it hurt? Possibly not. Is it right? Not unless it's done to address a real medical condition. It's illegal in many countries, and treated as cruelty to animals.

Re:Of course American cats are fat

[Kernel Kurtz]

Indeed. People who declaw their cats should have their fingers cut off IMO

Why is this here?

[Mal-2]

Just because it's on Ars Technica, that doesn't mean it's "News For Nerds, Stuff That Matters".

Also, fat pets have more health problems, but it's not exactly a major crisis. A cat dying at the age of 10 instead of 15 is unfortunate for one cat and one family, but it has exceptionally little effect on the world at large or even on the family's next door neighbors.

Re:Why is this here?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh how naive. Can you imagine what would happen if Maru died? YouTube would basically implode, taking most of the internet with it. Then what would you do? Yes, that's what I thought.

Re:Why is this here?

[Opportunist]

What would happen is that the cat gets replace by another cat that looks identical and it continues.

Re:Why is this here?

[Anonymous Coward]

You have no soul. How could you replace Maru! Anyone that's watched the way the fat furry feline stuffs himself into those boxes knows how hollow you and your words are.

Re:Why is this here?

[sound vision]

It's probably in the lower half of nutrition/health/biology articles here when ranked by interestingness, but not totally useless. The interesting thing for me to consider with this data is that the normalization of obesity is probably crossing over from the human realm into our pets as well. The pets dying early won't have an appreciable economic effect, but it can be indicative of our attitudes toward human weight, which absolutely have an effect.

Re:Why is this here?

[Opportunist]

Listening to me spewing the bitter truth is like eating drain cleaner. It sure has a cleansing effect, but it leaves you with an empty, hollow feeling inside.

Re:Why is this here?

[PPH]

Lots of other fat cats would take it's place.

Re:Why is this here?

[Anonymous Coward]

A cat dying at the age of 10 instead of 15 is unfortunate

And that still works out to a total of 90 years with the other 8 lives factored in.

Covariance

[SeattleLawGuy]

How much do they charge compared to the market? I knew a vet in the poor town in a rich county. He helped many very poor pet owners and knew every trick to keep bills down and I bet their animals were less obese.

Re:Covariance

[Anonymous Coward]

Cat vet bills can best be 'kept down' with a .22 rifle.

Free kittens also make decent snake food. Pre Weaned, so they're claws aren't hard yet.

And yet more fit than the owners

[twein]

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/heal...

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Anonymous Coward]

Rather normal - chocolate is deadly for cats and dogs. Also cats cannot taste sweets

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[ls671]

Damn, you just beat me to it ;-(

I was about to post the same link:

Fast Facts

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009–2010 2, 3

        More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese.
        More than 1 in 3 adults are considered to be obese.
        More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity.
        About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese.
        More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[ls671]

On the other hand, we could say that Americans handle their cats and dogs as well as their children ;-)

About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news: 50% of people are heavier than the median.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

Rather normal - chocolate is deadly for cats and dogs. Also cats cannot taste sweets

Most chocolate is no more deadly for dogs than it is for humans. Milk chocolate doesn't contain the chemical theobromide in amounts necessary to do damage - the dog would have to eat it's weight in milk chocolate to kill it. Same as eating your own weight in milk chocolate will kill you. My first newfie found my stash of solid easter bunnies I had bought on sale after easter, and ate 10 pounds of them. No harm. The family cat would get into the Hershey's Kisses and eat them, aluminium and all. It definitely could taste sweets. Just made for tinsel-wrapped poop. A sister's tiny Lhasa Apso ate a box of crayons - the only effect was the poop was easier to spot. Cats and dogs are a lot tougher than you think.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

The median has gone way up. Kids shown silhouettes of kids of different weight now pick the overweight or obese one as normal weight, and the healthy weight one as way too skinny.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Anonymous Coward]

You are telling lies, I have never heard of such a test, nor have I seen it, and even if it does exist it's likely cherry-picked as fuck with a microscopic sample size.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

And you're a troll. So what? Even 50% of adults (who should know better) underestimate their child's weight, and 14% think their overweight kids are normal weight. And over 15,000 subjects is hardly a cherry-picked microscopic sample size. You're just SO full of shit you must look really, really obese.

Why should they know better? Because when they were younger they had more examples of normal-weight kids around them. Their perceptions are like the frog sitting in a pan of progressively hotter water.

It's the same with kids opinions about their being overweight or obese. Many kids just don't see it. They think of obese as normal. And why wouldn't they - they see it everywhere now, so being overweight or obese has been normalized.

A fifth (20 per cent) had a BMI in the overweight category and seven per cent were categorised as obese.

Of these, around 40 per cent thought they were about the right weight.

And it's not getting better.

f parents are to be part of the solution to childhood obesity then parental recognition of overweight and obesity must be improved, they said. Dr Angela Jones, who carried out the study, said that part of the problem was that their had been a shift in what was considered "normal" weight in the last few years.

Only extremely overweight children were recognized as having a problem. The findings were mirrored by a study in the Netherlands which found three quarters of parents did not recognize their children as overweight and half of those with children that were obese.

Why do you think you're seeing all these ads now telling both adults and kids that they're perfect even if they're obese? And the whole "don't body-shame" thing? Shaming works. It worked with tobacco addiction, where smokers over the decades went from being normal to being pariahs, and nothing less will work with obesity. As long as everyone keeps pushing the message that it's okay, people won't feel the pressure to change. It's the "new normal."

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[PPH]

One additional problem with the perception of size in the USA: Fat has traditionally been equated with power. Particularly in the south and lower class social groups. Look at all the fat stereotypes on TV and the movies, where the town big-shot was usually a lard-ass. Some of this mindset continues today. Particularly in older businesses*, being tall has it's economic advantages. But being fat even more so.

*And even newer industries. There is some truth to the stereotype of the Cheetos-munching s/w developer. And when driving through the Microsoft campus in Redmond, the crosswalks between buildings look downright comical if the light timing is short.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Anonymous Coward]

Try giving your cat a taste of cantaloupe. Then post.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Anonymous Coward]

"Shaming works."

No it doesn't, you fucking tard. Shaming just makes people defensive and crazy. Why do you think there's a "healthy at any weight" or whatever movement in the first place?

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[psithurism]

cats cannot taste sweets

I'm not sure if you're experience nullifies the hypotheses. Your cat may have been attracted to the fattiness of the kisses rather than the sweetness. There's been some investigation into this: https://www.scientificamerican...

My cats will ignore sugar and fruits, but they too will eat chocolate and drink mocha; glad to hear the chocolate likely won't kill 'em. I'm still not sure about caffeine.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Thelasko]

Most chocolate is no more deadly for dogs than it is for humans.

This is bullshit. If you would have taken the pulse of your Newfoundland, you would have discovered it's heart racing. Chocolate is a stimulant for dogs. Your dog didn't die because it has a strong heart, it's large, and got lucky. A lot of crack addicts don't die for the same reasons. It doesn't mean it's not harmful.

I've had much smaller dogs eat chocolate as well. Yeah, the survived. But they were noticeably affected by it in their system.

If your dog eats chocolate, at least make them puke it up. Even better, call a veterinarian.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

The "healthy at any weight" movement is based on a lie. Obesity is not healthy. The movement is capitalizing on people not wanting to face the truth. Same as there was a "smokers rights movement" that eventually died because it too was based on a lie. Shaming works - sure, it takes decades, but in the case of smoking, history has proven that it has drastically cut down on an addiction that has been classed as "worse than heroin" - by heroin addicts who have kicked heroin but can't kick smoking.

Look at who's funding the ads promoting overweight and obesity being okay. Kellogs is one.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

Not milk chocolate. There's simply not enough theobromine to kill a dog - they would have to eat their own weight or more. Milk chocolate isn't the same as baker's chocolate. The sugar would kill them before that point. There's plenty that vets push that is BS - such as large dogs needing heartworm vaccinations, or needing vaccinations every year, or vaccinations for leptospirosis, when the vaccine only protects against 6 out of more than 150 different types and has side effects.

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[Thelasko]

Not milk chocolate. There's simply not enough theobromine to kill a dog - they would have to eat their own weight or more. Milk chocolate isn't the same as baker's chocolate. The sugar would kill them before that point. There's plenty that vets push that is BS - such as large dogs needing heartworm vaccinations, or needing vaccinations every year, or vaccinations for leptospirosis, when the vaccine only protects against 6 out of more than 150 different types and has side effects.

Uh huh...

For your own sake at least get your pets vaccinated for rabies. It's zoonotic, so it can be transmitted to humans, and it's fatal!

Re:And yet more fit than the owners

[BarbaraHudson]

You're an idiot. Even veterinarians, when pressed, admit that annual vaccines are not needed. Even for rabies.

And in other news...

[hyades1]

Korean Air is offering deep discounts to Americans who want to bring their overweight pets along on vacation, along with free copies of "100 Ways to Wok Your Dog".

Re:And in other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

explains the "crazy fat kid" running Pyongyang.

Re:And in other news...

[coofercat]

wrong Korea, but nevermind.

Re: Research Also Finds

[Anonymous Coward]

He's licking your face right now, isn't he? Gobbling up those tears?

Just like the owners

[schleimkeim]

no text

Americans are blubberpods

[Anonymous Coward]

This is not news. Everything they touch turns to lard.

Re:Americans are blubberpods

[Anonymous Coward]

And you don't touch yourself? Hippocrit.

RRK

Research finds...

[bradley13]

...that most pet owners have no idea how to care for their animals. They buy a pet, like they buy a sofa or chair: it's supposed to be there when they want it, and otherwise it is neglected. My cat is better trained than most dogs I meet. She sits and lies down on command, she comes when called. She does silly tricks.

Dogs in particular require a lot of interaction, a lot of training and a lot of care. They are pack animals, which means that - if they are going to get their share of the kill - they have to eat as much as they can, as fast as they can. People who bought a dog, thinking it was a kind of furry sofa, have no clue. So of course their dogs are overweight. "But he's always hungry" - no shit, Sherlock, that's how dogs are.

Re:Research finds...

[thegarbz]

...that most pet owners have no idea how to care for their animals.

Not at all. Researches have identified that pet owners put as much effort in the care of their pets as the care of their own obese lardarsses.

Most pet owners are quite responsible and understand what the requirements of their animals are. Unfortunately feeding their dogs their left over super sized pizza which they couldn't finish after drinking 1L of sugary drinks doesn't benefit the dog.

Re:Research finds...

[BarbaraHudson]

One liter? I'm sure many, if not most, Americans could handle double that.

Re:Research finds...

[Anonymous Coward]

I see television ads telling me that pet food brand X is bad because "meat isn't the first ingredient". Means literally nothing, manufacturers can put the ingredients in any order that serves their purpose. Someone will reply and defend this practice to make themselves feel better about the unfounded decision they made out of love for their pet.

Re:Research finds...

[strikethree]

...that most pet owners have no idea how to care for their animals.

Wow. I should report my son to Animal Welfare because his older cat who can't get much exercise is obscenely obese. Yeah, he really should not be adopting older pets from the Animal Shelter. Those animals have problems and should just be put to sleep so that the world can be a more perfect place.

I mean, I did suggest not buying normal cat food and she is slowly losing some weight, but why should we look at what is offered up as pet food when we can shame the owners for not caring enough or being good enough to care for a pet?

I do not want to take away from your perfectly valid rant against crappy pet owners; however, the world is not so black and white my friend.

Have a nice life. :)

Cat food lobby

[Kergan]

The industrial cat food you find in stores is choke full of nutrients that are pointless for obligate carnivores. It's akin to feeding kids with cookies and candy bars on grounds that there's a bit of flour and nuts in them.

Not to mention the severe lack of water in the case of dry food. Cats get the bulk of their daily water intake through their food, and only partially compensate the lack of intake by drinking more if you give them dry food.

Re:Cat food lobby

[Anonymous Coward]

cheap food is usually bad, for humans and pets... who-woulda-thunk it??

Re:Cat food lobby

[ChunderDownunder]

the cats that have owned me were fussy. They never seemed interested in the expensive cat food from the gourmet pet supermarket.

I would always get the samples to try because there was no point in buying a big bag they wouldn't eat.

Re:Cat food lobby

[Anonymous Coward]

"chock" full, not "choke". Are you taking a writing class from creimer the clown?

Re:Cat food lobby

[Anonymous Coward]

"chock" full, not "choke". Are you taking a writing class from creimer the clown?

In Hawaiian English Creole (Pidgin), the word "choke" mans "lots". I can easily imagine kamaaina saying "choke full" instead of "chock full". Same goes for anyone where English isn't the native tongue (I can also imagine such a person writing "chalk full" based on pronunciation).

Re:Cat food lobby

[eth1]

I've always said that feeding your cat any food you're likely to find in a normal supermarket/wal-mart/etc. is no different than taking your kids to McDonald's three meals a day (and maybe worse).

If you start feeding your cat good cat food, you'll notice they eat quite a bit less of it, which partially compensates for the increased cost. Leaves more room for water in the case of dry food, too, but you still need to give them some wet/oily food every day.

YA RLY

[Anonymous Coward]

Understanding why just about everyone is overweight in the USoA would matter. (Moreso than the latest missive by some "hacker hacking hacks"-spouting "security expert" alarmist blogger, certainly.) That it's down to the cats and dogs might well have something to do with owner ignorance, but I suspect there's more to it. It's apparently very hard to stay healthy on the food you can buy easiest, even for cats and dogs. And why, really, is that? It can't be all the fast food chains fault, can it?

Re:YA RLY

[Anonymous Coward]

My cat lives with my mother in law, she works part time, she has a large house.. etc, but he's put on 1.5 lbs in the last two years because she over feeds him.

Re:YA RLY

[HornWumpus]

Stopped being 'your cat' the day your MIL started feeding it. By the third bowl, it didn't remember you. Just how cats are.

Re:YA RLY

[jellomizer]

What I am more curious about is the quality of the Overweight Americans and pets. My dog is considered overweight for his height, however he is a mixed bread, with short legs and a larger trunk, and he is a solid healthy dog.
Americans in general have a higher protein diet, so we are normally bigger and heavier (without being fatter) in general. Also unlike a lot of other countries, we have a mixed heritage. which creates more genetic diversity.
However that is one factor. I expect for the most part we are stressed out, so we are eating too much junk food and feeding it to our pets. Thus we are having the bad type of overweight.

Glad to hear!

[dohzer]

Glad to hear it's not as high a percentage as humans!

Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[swb]

Dogs may be able to digest carbohydrates but if you stop and think about it, where would dogs get carbohydrates in the wild? Trace amounts from eating grass, but otherwise they would be eating meat or scavenging carrion. They can only tolerate some carbohydrates because of their long association with humans.

Most dog food is chock full of carbohydrates and it fattens dogs just like fattens people and cattle in the feedlot.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[drinkypoo]

Most dog food is chock full of carbohydrates and it fattens dogs just like fattens people and cattle in the feedlot.

There's plenty in cat food, too. Our cat spends most of her time outside hunting things so she supplements and gets lots of exercise, but the only cat food she will eat is the cheapest possible crunchies. I worry about the health impact, but she's about the most active cat I know, so clearly it's not causing her problems. Probably that's why it isn't.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

In the wild dogs would mainly get carbs from the stomach contents of kills and scavenged carcasses. Which still sounds like much less than industrial petfood.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[BarbaraHudson]

So it's a good thing to feed the dog table scraps. Also good for the environment, less resources going into making and transporting dog food.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[c]

where would dogs get carbohydrates in the wild?

Judging from the coyote scat I see around my place and what my dogs eat outside, fruit is a pretty popular source of nutrients and carbs.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

There are other problems with dogs eating wheaten food. Dogs have naturally-high stomach acidity and this makes them almost immune to bacteria in food; it's likely an evolutionary adaptation for eating carrion. Wheat in food is thought to lower the stomach acidity and makes the dogs more vulnerable to food poisoning.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[jittles]

Dogs may be able to digest carbohydrates but if you stop and think about it, where would dogs get carbohydrates in the wild? Trace amounts from eating grass, but otherwise they would be eating meat or scavenging carrion. They can only tolerate some carbohydrates because of their long association with humans.

Most dog food is chock full of carbohydrates and it fattens dogs just like fattens people and cattle in the feedlot.

Dogs are scavengers and will eat almost anything. My dog will happily eat fruit and even some vegetables off the ground. They need a large amount of protein in their diet, but they do eat more than just grass as you suggest. They do not, however, eat grains.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[jittles]

where would dogs get carbohydrates in the wild?

Judging from the coyote scat I see around my place and what my dogs eat outside, fruit is a pretty popular source of nutrients and carbs.

Bingo! Dogs love sweat tasting foods. My dog will even eat some vegetables.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

Sweat. I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

Bingo! Dogs love sweat tasting foods. My dog will even eat some vegetables.

So that's why my dog likes licking me after I take her for a run.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[avandesande]

Right. But sweet things like berries are only available a few weeks out of the year, so it makes sense that their body would immediately turn them into fat.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Spy Handler]

It's a good theory. Dogs = wolves in cuddly disguise. Wolves = meat eaters. Therefore dogs would do better eating only meat.

Unfortunately real life empirical data disproves this theory. Dogs eating nothing but supermarket dry dog food live far longer than any wolves.

If you want a more apples-to-apples comparison, take dogs than are given nothing but raw meat vs. dogs eating packaged dry dog food. Once again, meat eating dogs did not live any longer than dogfood eating dogs.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[swb]

Right, their access in nature to fruits is extremely limited by seasonality, the inherent limitations of wild fruit-producing plants (most forests are not populated with apple trees), and competition from animals for whom fruit is a primary food and which have innate abilities to access it (climbing or flying).

A dog can only eat fruit in season and which it can reach and hasn't been already taken by fruit-eating competitors.

In nature, a dog's access to high carbohydrate foods is extremely limited.

I would suspect that domestic dogs may have even evolved improved carbohydrate metabolism from their long association with people and the odds that humans were most likely to discard lower-value carbohydrates than high-value animal proteins.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[avandesande]

I guess it depends what you mean by evolved. I used to feed my dogs cheap food which had corn and other things of that nature and they were always ravenous and gained weight. After switching to a healthier food they became easily satiated and returned to normal weight. Diamond Naturals... it's not even that expensive.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

My god, but you're a fucking idiot.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess it depends what you mean by evolved.

Evolved meaning over generations have developed the trait, in this case digesting carbohydrates. It's not a ridiculous theory, given that humans have evolved so that many have adult lactose tolerance, and other diet-related traits.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

where would dogs get carbohydrates in the wild?

Judging from the coyote scat I see around my place and what my dogs eat outside, fruit is a pretty popular source of nutrients and carbs.

Growing up in Hawaii, we had 6 outdoor cats who would devour any papaya we let fall to the ground. For some reason they didn't care much for mango. We put out about half the recommended dry cat food, but kept the water bowls full. Our cats would supplement with geckos and rodents.

I don't know if I'd have an outdoor pet here, though. We get feet of snow in the winter and about 40 days a year at least 90 F. It would be a major investment making time every day to go to the park or woods to maintain a healthy and happy animal.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[strikethree]

Really? WTF dude. You are distracting the narrative of Americans being so incredibly gluttonous that even their pets are obese.

Every single person must be kept in the prison of belief that they are inadequate and worthless or at least partially at fault for just about everything that is wrong with the world. It should be a constant barrage of insults so that there is no relief other than death.

Being logical and taking the time to actually think about things detracts from the narrative which permits control that is so deep that a persons soul is almost permanently enslaved.

Tl;DR, Your words are very insightful and my sarcasm is off topic (but maybe entertaining?).

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[c]

Right, their access in nature to fruits is extremely limited by seasonality

True. Although it's not that short of a season, and you can add things like nuts and roots to the list which have a high shelf life... I spent a good chunk of the spring filling in holes in the lawn where my dogs were digging up buried walnuts.

Corn is popular with some dogs, too.

I would suspect that domestic dogs may have even evolved improved carbohydrate metabolism from their long association with people

The coyotes seem to switch to an almost exclusively apple diet in the fall (hundreds of acres of orchards), so I'm thinking it's not exclusive to domestic dogs.

Dogs do thrive on a carnivorous diet, and if you want to see lean muscle then a raw meat diet is definitely going to get your dog there easier and with less side-effects (i.e. allergies) than Ol' Roy, but I tend to worry way more about how many calories they eat than whether they're eating an optimal diet.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[Anonymous Coward]

...Dogs love sweat tasting foods...

I tried putting sweat on dogfood, but my dog won't eat sweat tasting food.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[HornWumpus]

Curly, bad dog! Hacking the lady's /. account. Bad!

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[HornWumpus]

Ol' Roy...

If you never want to eat Taco Bell again, open a can of Ol' Roy beef dog food and get a good smell. Then go immediately to Taco Bell and go in. When you go in the door, you will smell Ol' Roy beef dog food combined with Taco Bell seasoning. You will never be able to eat Taco Bell again. I can't even feed my dog Ol' Roy wet dog food anymore.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[swb]

Dogs do thrive on a carnivorous diet, and if you want to see lean muscle then a raw meat diet is definitely going to get your dog there easier and with less side-effects (i.e. allergies) than Ol' Roy, but I tend to worry way more about how many calories they eat than whether they're eating an optimal diet.

I suspect that dogs have a pretty good metabolic signaling system that prevents them from gaining weight even on an all meat diet. Unless they have been stressed or mistreated somehow and have developed a starvation mindset, I think that even if given an unlimited supply of all meat they would gorge initially but then level out as their metabolic system told them they had enough to eat.

Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too

[drinkypoo]

My god, but you're a fucking idiot.

That may be, but I'm not afraid of a Slashdot login, so I'm a goddamned superman compared to you.

Let me guess

[Dunbal]

It's all those large sized carbonated beverages owners are giving them...

Re:Let me guess

[sound vision]

I haven't seen many people do that, but I suppose it's possible. More likely, the obesity has to do with large amounts of solid carbs, what your mom called "people-food". Also note that a lot of the dog food out there is closer nutritionally to "people-food" than what dogs would naturally eat.

Re:Let me guess

[HornWumpus]

Your dog wants beer. Delicious, preferably flat, beer.

Not can beer, or over hopped IPA. Good, flat, 'German' (Czech?) style beer.

I've had three dogs turn their nose up at Bud. The look at you like WTF is that? Never had Coors in the house, but you can bet all the 'alka seltzer' style beers would get the same result.

Just like the American people!

[sabbede]

I guess pets and their owners do start to look alike...

Is it real or electric?

[Anonymous Coward]

... its a social status thing.

n/t

My girlsfriends cat...

[unique_parrot]

...was overweight too. Until we got a tip to look out for sugar in the food.
It wasn't easy to find a cat food without sugar and we were worried that he - the sugar junkie - wouldn't like it BUT he loves it!
I think the meat must be better (didn't taste it).

Now he is back to normal and way more active (immediately after the food change).

Re:My girlsfriends cat...

[Anonymous Coward]

It's good to hear.
This is just the sort of thing that 1 out of 3 cat owners aren't thinking about.
Good for you for putting in the effort.

Re:My girlsfriends cat...

[Anonymous Coward]

It surprises people, but Cats cannot taste 'sweet'. There is really no reason for sugar to be put into cat food to benefit the cat.

The manufactures add it as cheap filler. It's the same thing with people food. Government subsidies on corn in the United States means it is super cheap to replace something else with HCF "sugar" or corn meal to increase weight, improve appearance and improve smell to people.

But your cat doesn't care. He or she is just as happy eating freshly killed mouse or crunchy live beetles as the top-shelf pureed fish-n-bits.

Re:My girlsfriends cat...

[Krishnoid]

Do you have the brand name? My friend (who I'm cat-sitting for over the July 4 weekend, incidentally) wanted to know.

Re:My girlsfriends cat...

[unique_parrot]

It's called "Molly" here in Austria - sorry - and we get it from the "Spar" supermarket.

Re:My girlsfriends cat...

[unique_parrot]

That's very interesting to know and such a shame.
I know somebody who's cat got diabetes (overwight, no "sport" and too much sugar).

We don't want that to happen to our cat.

"Even their dog is fat"

[Anonymous Coward]

Confirmed by FPH

inb4 reddit bans everyone who shares this story

So are their owners

[Anonymous Coward]

Whenever we travel to the US, we're blown away by the gargantuan size of the majority of Americans. 30-somethings riding those scooters you only see old people using here. And their government is trying to kill their health care. LOL.

Re:So are their owners

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll never understand this misconception. I'd say about 1/4 of the people I see are overweight, fewer are obese, and even fewer are morbidly obese. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I never see 30-somethings in those scooters, only older people use those around my area. Perhaps you're visiting the deep south, or redneck country?

Re:So are their owners

[Anonymous Coward]

It really depends where and what time you're looking. I see a lot of overweight people here in the midstate. Not people-of-walmart overweight but more than a little thick if you get my drift.

Then I decided to lose a few pounds and started looking at these charts for what somebody my age/height is supposed to do for weight/calories. Seriously, according to these, everybody but the cheerleading squad is overweight. They're telling me a 5'8" I should be around 145 pounds. Sure, at 200, I was no track star, but I was shooting for 160 as about where to stop. I'm halfway there and now everybody's telling me to slow down or I'll be too thin (I don't see it but whatever). WTF.

Re: Research Also Finds

[Anonymous Coward]

Enjoying other people's misery? Yeah that sounds like him.

Biased data

[Anonymous Coward]

They aren't seriously claiming they've discovered something using only their own data as a source, right?

First of all, Banfield is only in urban areas where there is more disposable income. Second, people who go to Banfield/Petsmart are those who tend to spoil their pets more, and in turn also feed them more treats and larger meal helpings. Finally, they are only using their own in-house data, and in doing so are failing to control for their own internal bias.

No Idea

[Thyamine]

I think this is because most owners have no idea what their pet should look like. I have friends who have commented 'oh, they are supposed to look that way' when their pup looked like an overstuffed sausage with legs. There is no way the vet looked at that animal and said 'Amazing specimen of health there!' I have found that as we have gotten healthier (running, trying to eat better), so have our animals. Initially I can understand a lack of knowledge leading to poor choices, but when the vet says you have to do better, it's just like your own doctor saying it. And I think most people just go 'eh' and promise that _next year_ we'll be better.

Those are not the weight standards for pets

[Anonymous Coward]

What is this made-up standard for obesity they are using? It certainly does not agree with the AVMA standards for weight in pets.

Natural food

[arnott]

The natural food for cats and dogs is meat, when you replace it with mostly grains, they become fat just like their human owners.

Re:Natural food

[beastofburdon]

Exactly, cats, dogs, humans, none of these evolved to eat grains, but the recommended food for all three is almost entirely made of grains.

How many bars was there?

[Slugster]

Well, was there WiFi? That makes it a tech story, right? ;>)

Seriously--it could matter to people in the pet-related industries. And to people who have pets too, I guess.

One cause is that dry food is convenient to feed, but it is usually vegetable-based (corn or rice) which isn't really good for dogs, and is twice as not-good for cats. Canned food is generally much better for them.

Semi-related: one time I was told that when investigating senility in seniors (people, that is) some doctors ask to see a current photo of the person's pet, if they have one.
The reason is because when people begin to get memory loss they frequently can't recall if they fed the pet that day, so just to be sure they feed it several times a day... And the pet ends up quite visibly overweight because of it.

Obvious alliteration fail

[Anonymous Coward]

hefty felines and ... chunky canines

Seriously. FAT felines, it's bloody obvious, why the alliteration fail? Since I'm bored I'll blame pc culture, might get a nice flame war going.

Re:Obvious alliteration fail

[Scroatzilla]

Corpulent Canines.

Can confirm - 1 out of my 3 dogs is overweight

[Anonymous Coward]

The pudgy one is highly food motivated, and is always present within seconds if a morsel of food hits the floor, or one of the other dogs steps away from their food bowls during a meal. He's also the one to rush in on clean-up duty if either of the others happens to hork up something they are. I bet that partially pre-digested food goes straight to his love handles!

Not my dog

[Anonymous Coward]

Impossible for my dog to be overweight.

Mainly because he died a month ago.

I wondered how they were alive

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

obese animals

So those Angry Birds and pig heads aren't heads -- they are the whole bodies.

I'm surprised it's only 1/3 overweight

[EdZep]

I'd guess closer to 50%.

I have a very healthy and active dog -- that gets checkups every year, with approval by the vet clinic crew about her weight and build. Yet, it's not unusual to get disapproving looks or comments from people who think she's too thin. For many people, overweight dogs are considered normal; they don't even know what a healthy dog looks like.

Who would have thought

[nospam007]

Fat, large people, have fat large cars and fat, large cats and dogs.

I bet they also have fat, large wives or husbands and fat large kids and a fat large liver on top.

1 in 3 neutered or spayed?

[Anonymous Coward]

animals gain weight, especially males, when you cut out their reproductive organs (balls). my cat doubled in size sans testes, vet said "perfectly normal"

Curious..

[Vegan Cyclist]

There's a movement claiming that being overweight or obese isn't as harmful as it's made out to be. (I don't subscribe to this, but it exists.)

Curious if they'd argue that it's just as healthy for a cat or dog to be obese?

What is the food name ?

[Anonymous Coward]

...was overweight too. Until we got a tip to look out for sugar in the food.

It wasn't easy to find a cat food without sugar and we were worried that he - the sugar junkie - wouldn't like it BUT he loves it!

I think the meat must be better (didn't taste it).

Now he is back to normal and way more active (immediately after the food change).

I searched for a long time, but even vet sold diabetic food has 0.7% sugar and 10% starch...

THIS

[gosand]

Look how much grain is in the dog food.
Look how much grain is in your diet. (yes, corn is a grain)

This story does not surprise me in the least.

We've only been consuming grains for roughly 10,000 years, but we've been evolving for 2.5 million years.
Grains have been substitutes for food in times of famine, but now they take up the majority of our diet. Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease will continue until this stops.

Frog thing is BS. Like the rest of your post.

[Anonymous Coward]

Frog thing is BS. Like the rest of your post.

Oh, and nice fat-shaming and obesophobia. Like always, liberals gonna hate on those they don't like while pretending to be tolerant.

Re:Frog thing is BS. Like the rest of your post.

[BarbaraHudson]

We're in the middle of a growing obesity epidemic, and NOTHING else has worked. Many people are addicted to food, same as they were to tobacco. It wasn't just the health scares that got people to quit smoking - it was the social pressure. And only similar social pressure will work with this epidemic. What's wrong with showing TV public service ads of obese people stuffing their face and asking "Are you really happy?" and showing the consequences.

Or junk food packaging with half the front and back covered with pictures of obese people? What do you have against truth in advertising? What do you have against saving lives?

Anecdote

[Princeofcups]

We have 3 cats, and 1 is overweight. Study confirmed.

Not a Surprise

[Whooty McWhooface]

Aren't pets supposed to look like their owners?

Overweight?

[realdx]

And One in three are normal weight and One in three are underweight. Seems completely fucking normal. What's the big fucking deal?

As South Park's Eric Cartman says...

[antdude]

... "I'm not fat. I'm big boned!"

Nice To Know

[NicknameUnavailable]

There are people getting paid to survey how fat dogs and pets are. Good thing we don't have any actual problems, like mortality.

RIP English Language

[Anonymous Coward]

ONE in three American cats and dogs ARE overweight.

So overweight that one is now considered a plural.