What are the fundamental causes of obesity in pets?
Obesity is one of the most common nutritional medical disorders affecting companion animals, with approximately 24-40% of pets being classified as overweight. Obesity is defined as an increase of over 20% above the optimum body weight. Reasons for this include a more confined and sedentary lifestyle for pets, availability of highly-palatable, energy dense pet foods and treats, and a strong human-animal bond which leads to overfeeding and snacking. The fundamental cause of obesity is excess of caloric intake over energy depletion with the surplus being stored as fat. There are many factors which affect this balance, including age, breed, sex, hormonal abnormalities, as well as external factors such as lifestyle, diet formulation and intake. Hound breeds, Cocker Spaniels, Labradors and Shelties are some of the more common breeds affected. Neutered females, dogs older than 4 years of age and pets belonging to obese owners are more prone to excess weight gain. The risk of certain health pr
