Pet obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate across the developed world, and the scale of the problem has now reached a signifciant milestone. The latest report from the Association for Pet Obesity prevention shows more than 50% of US dogs and cats are now overweight or obese, according to an article by Gwendolyn Bounds in the Wall Street Journal. The survey also indicates pet owners deserve the main share of blame because they regularly overfeed their pets, don’t give them enough exercise and are not educated about the serious health consequences of pet obesity.
So what can we do about it? Well there are loads of practical things that owners can do to help keep their pets in shape, from getting out and about to encourage exercise to healthy eating and you can find my top tips on my pet health advice pages on the Vet’s Kitchen website. And specifically for dogs, we’ve got our Vet’s Kitchen Light variety which is the ideal diet to help dogs maintain a healthy waistline, with 20% less fat that our adult diets, L-carnitine to promote fat conversion to muscle, and glucosamine and chondroitin to help maintain mobility. It’s available here online, and also at www.Ocado.com, www.netpetshop.co.uk and in over 100 Waitrose stores nationwide.
