Apr. 11,
2013 — According to the World Health Organization, more than two-thirds of
Americans are overweight or obese. And it's not just humans who are packing on
the pounds. Our furry companions are plagued by an obesity epidemic of their
own. More than 50 percent of the dogs and cats in the United States
In a new paper
on pet obesity in the Journal of Animal Science, University of Illinois
There are many
reasons for the uptick in pet obesity, but they stem from the domestication of
cats and dogs, Swanson said. Because most pets no longer hunt or compete for
their food and do not mate -- as a result of having been spayed or neutered,
the typical dog or cat of today has a much smaller need for energy than the
typical wild dog or cat of yesterday, he said.
When a person
or an animal consumes more food than the body needs, the excess energy is
converted into fat that is stored in adipose tissue. These fats can then be
converted back to an energy source during fasting or times of food scarcity.
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