We've all heard of the obesity epidemic. Obesity was once considered a condition affecting adult men and women in predominantly western societies. As with humans, pet obesity has become a major health issue. An estimated 25-40% of dogs in the US are obese. Pet obesity is not an issue involving dogs alone, cats and all domestic pets are at risk from this potentially fatal condition.

Pet obesity is a major health concern and is one of the most common nutritional problems I see in pets. Alarmingly, obesity (similarly with humans) put animals at a greater risk for heart and respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer, liver and kidney disease. Degenerative diseases like arthritis and bone disease are also becoming more common as well as heat intolerance, all of which affects your pets quality of life and life expectancy.

 The problem is that as owners we dictate how much and what our pets can eat and also how long and how often our pets exercise. This ultimately affects your pets health and its weight. Animals need their own nutritional food as human food will have a different affect on the animals. For instance, 1 plain biscuit has the same impact on the animals system as 1 hamburger or a 100g sausage is equivalent to 6 donuts when feed to a dog.

Some of the main causes of weight gain in animals include: