Apart from human obesity, pet obesity is also becoming a growing concern in the US. A new study conducted jointly by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and Mars Inc.'s Banfield Pet Hospitals across the nation has found that more than half of the pet population are either overweight or obese, which means that more than 43 million dogs and 50 million cats suffer from the problem of obesity.

During the study, the pets were assessed with a Body Condition Score that ranged from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5. A score of 1 was given to extremely thin pets with “severely defined ribs and waist" while a score of 5 was given to clinically obese pets in which "waist is absent and cannot feel the ribs". It was found that a majority of pets visiting Banfield scored 3s and 4s.

The major reason behind the growing obesity problem among pets is being attributed to the perception problem of pet owners. In most cases, pet owners like to make their pets look “healthy” and “cute” and therefore ignore the extra weight the pet might have put on. But in reality, pets are more sensitive to obesity. For example, a medium-sized dog with an ideal weight of 30 pounds would be facing life-threatening conditions if it gains more than five pounds of weight. Similarly, one pound weight-gain for a 9-pound cat amounts to an 11 percent increase in body weight.

Obesity can lead to serious consequences in pets including diabetes, arthritis, kidney diseases, high blood pressure and heart diseases. In fact, being overweight can make a pet lose up to 2.5 years of life expectancy. But most of the pet-owners are unaware of the potential dangers of pet obesity and hence tend to over-feed their pets out of their love for them. More often than not, pets are given table scraps as rewards and these only add to the problem. This should be a complete no-no according to veterinarians.

Veterinarians say, most animals are gluttonous in nature and hence they would always eat food when offered, irrespective of whether they are hungry or not. Dr. Robert Schachner, a veterinarian from Cooper City, says that pet owners need to be aware of this fact. Instead of offering the pets whatever they are eating, the pet owners should put them on an appropriately portioned and well-balanced diet. Pet foods that contain protein fillers, chemical preservatives and animal by-products should be avoided as much as possible. While training a pet, pet owners should stick to sugar-free or fat-free treats.

It is also important to make the pet exercise. For dogs, walking and fetching are extremely vital as these provide sufficient physical work.  It has been observed that lack of physical exercise leads to boredom which makes pets while away time by sleeping. Finally, a pet owner should weigh his/her pet on a weekly basis to keep weight gain at check.