{"id":21213,"date":"2020-06-16T15:32:57","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T15:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/?p=21213"},"modified":"2022-04-06T18:19:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T18:19:24","slug":"addressing-the-growing-problem-of-overweight-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/nutrition\/addressing-the-growing-problem-of-overweight-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing the Growing Problem of Overweight Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"

As veterinary professionals, we have tools to assess a pet\u2019s weight status\u2014and know the risks extra pounds can pose to their health and wellbeing. It can be much harder, however, for pet owners to recognize when their pet is overweight, especially as heavy is increasingly considered the \u201cnew normal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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From the Field<\/b> shares insights from Banfield Pet Hospital<\/b><\/span> veterinary team members. Drawing from the nationwide practice\u2019s extensive research, as well as findings from its electronic veterinary medical records database and more than 8 million annual pet visits, this column is intended to explore topics and spark conversations relevant to veterinary practices that ultimately help create a better world for pets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Given the ongoing pet obesity epidemic in the U.S., Banfield Pet Hospital and the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) partnered for the fourth year to produce the Veterinary Emerging Topics (VET)\u00ae Report<\/a>, combining the power of data to understand pet health trends and identify opportunities to improve patient outcomes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our 2019 report focused on trends and opportunities in osteoarthritis (OA) management, a multi-modal approach that includes not only pain but also nutrition and weight management. As we explored barriers veterinary teams face in diagnosing and treating excess body weight and OA, we recognized that the complexity of these linked conditions merited continued exploration this year. The 2020 report continues the mobility theme, this time focusing primarily on excess weight in pets.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Overweight State of Pets<\/h2>\n

Our 2020 VET Report dives into findings about overweight adult dogs and the factors that appear to be affecting owner engagement and successful weight loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, we partnered with Mars Petcare\u2019s Kinship Data Science and Analytics team\u00a0to use new techniques\u00a0with the goal of better understanding our overweight adult dog population. Key findings included the following:<\/span><\/p>\n