Americans are more obese than the majority of other countries in the world. This is probably due to the Western culture of larger meal portions, lack of exercise, and our love of unhealthy habits. In fact, more than one-third of US adults are obese. That is 78.6 million people. What is more astonishing is that the estimated yearly medical cost of being obese in America was $147 billion in 2008, according to the Journal of American Medicine.
Your Health Is Affecting Your Pets
It has been found that unhealthy habits can be passed along to family pets. It’s true that most pets feed off the energy of their owners. If you are a healthy and active adult, your pet will follow in your footsteps. Unfortunately, if you’re lazy and slothful your pets will also take on your sedentary. According to The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an estimated 51.5% of dogs and cats in the United States are currently overweight or obese. This causes added stress upon their bodies and puts them at an increased risk of diabetes, liver problems, and joint pain.
When energy intake exceeds energy requirements, obesity starts developing. All the excess energy is then stored as fat. Much like humans, the majority of animal cases involving obesity are caused by simply overfeeding coupled with a lack of exercise. A simple way of checking to see if your dog or cat is overweight is by checking their backbone and ribs. You should be able to feel the backbone and the ribs of your pet without pressing. If you cannot feel the ribs or spine of your pet, there is too much fat. You should also be able to see somewhat of a waist between the back of the rib cage and the hips when looking at your pet from above.
What you can do to help
It is not enough to just change your dog’s diet and exercise. You have to change your own habits to reflect the changes you would like to see in your pet. Increasing physical activity is the easiest way to maintain a healthy body weight and keep fat off. It is essential to find something that you see as a fun activity so it doesn’t seem so taxing. That way you end up burning calories, increasing your metabolic rate, and even reducing your appetite. Visit Dr. Jerod for some healthy living techniques and see what you can do about your health today.
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