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

Posted by BeauHD on from the time-to-hit-the-treadmill dept.

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.

16 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Really? by Circlotron · · Score: 4, Informative

    Stuff that matters alright!

  2. Not really surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Not really surprising by guises · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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."

    2. Re:Not really surprising by sound+vision · · Score: 4, Insightful

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

    3. Re:Not really surprising by c · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

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  3. Why is this here? by Mal-2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

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  4. And yet more fit than the owners by twein · · Score: 5, Informative

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

    1. Re:And yet more fit than the owners by ls671 · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

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    2. Re:And yet more fit than the owners by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

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    3. Re:And yet more fit than the owners by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Insightful
      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."

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  5. And in other news... by hyades1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    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".

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  6. Research finds... by bradley13 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...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.

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  7. Cat food lobby by Kergan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  8. Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too by swb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Dogs should be given carnivorous diet, too by c · · Score: 3, Informative

      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.

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  9. My girlsfriends cat... by unique_parrot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...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).