The Responsibility of Veterinarians to Address Companion Animal Obesity

Abstract

Simple SummaryObesity is a disease of rapidly increasing prevalence in dogs and cats, with significant and often lifelong implications for animal welfare. Veterinarians are expected and mandated to protect animal health and welfare, and provide informed consent. We provide an overview of the causes, risk factors, and consequences of pet obesity; evidence regarding veterinarian compliance in diagnosing and discussing obesity in small animal practice; and outline recommendations to prevent and address overweight and obesity in companion animals. We argue that small-animal veterinarians are not meeting their ethical and professional obligation to speak up about obesity, which is a One-Health problem.AbstractObesity is a modern-day epidemic in both people and companion animals. A summary of the current research on the causes, risk factors, consequences, and implications of overweight and obesity, and the compliance of small-animal practitioners in recognizing and addressing pet obesity, is provided. Ethical and animal welfare concerns are raised regarding these findings. We argue that a patient advocacy posture compels the veterinary profession to confront this issue more reliably. Evidence is presented to support obesity as a One-Health problem, and discrete and practical recommendations for preventing and addressing companion animal obesity are proposed. The One-Health perspective encourages coordinated action by veterinary healthcare professionals in order to address overweight and obesity in companion animals as a public health concern.

Opinions towards Companion Animals and Their Welfare: A Survey of Croatian Veterinary Students

“…Many owners feed their pets with inappropriate food and/or excessive amounts of food, thus predisposing obesity as the most common nutritional disorder in dogs and cats [42][43][44], major welfare issue and One Health problem [45,46]. In their report, Kipperman and German [47] argue that it is veterinarian duty and responsibility to address CA obesity.…”

A simple method to evaluate body condition score to maintain the optimal body weight in dogs

“…Overweight and obesity have increased during the last decades [1,2]. In dogs, an excessive body fat accumulation has been also a serious concern and became a common health problem that affects on the quality of dog’s life [3–6]. Unlike farm animals of which the nutritional balance is systemically managed by the feeding standard to achieve optimal productivity dogs living at home are dependent on owner’s feeding regime [7,8].…”

Letter to the Editor Re: Kipperman, B.S. and German, A.J. Animals 2018, 8, 143

“…I read, with interest, Kipperman and German’s opinion paper [ 1 ] describing the problem of pet overweight and obesity. This letter expands on the authors’ assertion that small-animal veterinarians are not identifying and discussing pet overweight and obesity with clients.…”

“…The authors base this conclusion on records from referring veterinarians for 148 dogs over a 12-month period. In this sample, 70% of the records included documentation of body weight, 29% included a qualitative assessment of body condition, and only one record included the patient’s body condition score (BCS) [ 1 ]. Based on 11 years’ experience as a veterinarian working in referral and general practices, I was surprised at the low number of veterinarians reporting BCS and wonder how representative Kipperman and German’s sample is of the small-animal general practice veterinarian population.…”