Posts tagged "weight"

As Americans struggle to keep our waistlines in check, it's no real surprise that our unhealthy lifestyles have been weighing down our pets as well. In fact, a new study has found that American dogs and cats are facing an obesity epidemic much like our own!

According to a study conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half of U.S. pets are now considered overweight or worse. A full 20 percent of dogs and 20 percent of cats are now considered obese, meaning they're 30 percent above their normal weights, the Wall Street Journal reports. But veterinarians and owners are tackling this problem with new diets, pet weight management software and more.

Underworked and Overfed
It's a sad fact, but our pets are logging more hours on the couch and getting less exercise than ever before. And with the country suffering from bad weather this winter, pets had even less opportunity to exercise.

But one of the major issues, according to the Wall Street Journal, has to do with owners who routinely overfeed their pets -- and not just table scraps. As many pet owners have discovered, it's not always easy to determine how much to feed their pets each day.

That's in part due to the fact that most pet food manufacturers don't list caloric information on their packaging. "Just 10 extra kibbles of a typical dry cat food could add up to one pound of weight gain annually," APOP founder Dr. Ernie Ward tells the Wall Street Journal.

Is your pet a little chunky? That could be a problem, and it's not about vanity.

Overweight and obese dogs and cats are more vulnerable to developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, skin problems, and arthritis and other joint problems. Who knew that sharing scrumptious bits of cheese and cookie with your pet could actually be hurting her in the long run?

Here are some startling factoids:

• Feeding a dachshund just one ounce of cheddar cheese is equivalent to an average woman eating two and a half hamburgers.
• Letting your cat have just a single potato chip is the same as an average woman eating half a hamburger or an entire chocolate bar.
• Giving your cat a cup of milk to drink is like an average woman eating four and a half hamburgers or five chocolate bars!

Celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson has turned his attention from J.Lo to Fido and teamed up with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. as part of the Alliance for Healthier Pets. "One of the biggest myths among pet owners is that food equals love," says Peterson. "Healthy treats in moderation are okay but unfortunately many pet owners are unknowingly harming their cats and dogs by rewarding them with people food."

If you're wondering whether your pet is overweight, go to PetFit.com where you'll find tools on how to tell if your pet is overweight, what its ideal weight should be and a virtual Training Room where Peterson demonstrates fun exercises you can do with your cat or dog. And don't miss the scary little online tool called the "Human Parallel" that shows how a Chihuahua that's just two pounds overweight is equivalent to a 125-pound woman gaining 62.5 pounds!

Source