Obesity is becoming an increasingly serious problem in today's society and not just for us, but also for our pets... Not only are tens of millions of Americans overweight but so are their dogs and cats.



A story recently published by CNN revealed that the majority of adult dogs and cats in U.S. homes are overweight or obese, and the problem is getting worse. Fifty-three percent of adult dogs and 55% of cats were classified as overweight or obese by their veterinarians. So not only can we not take care of ourselves nowadays, we can't give our dogs and cats the proper exercise and nutrition they deserve either.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention report shows not only that more pets are overweight, but also that those with the problem "are getting fatter." Their annual study found that about 41 million dogs and 47 million cats are overweight or obese.



Of course, obesity is just as bad for our animals as for us and dangers include high blood pressure, "crippling arthritis," diabetes and some cancers. According to a veterinarian in North Carolina, "Their life is shortened by two or 2½ years."

Just like obesity is becoming increasingly normal amongst humans, more and more owners are unaware that their pets are overweight. The study found that 22% of dog owners and 15% of cat owners characterized their pets as normal weight when the animals were actually overweight or obese. Fat pets are the new norm.



And when you consider that 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog, and 33% of households own at least one cat, according to the Humane Society of the United States, that's a lot of fat pets. But it's not entirely our faults. While we should stick to the eat less, exercise more maxim for our pets, pet foods are higher in calories these days than they used to be. Why is this? Is high calorie pet food cheaper to mass produce?

However, this doesn't mean we should start starving our pets but rather just controlling the amount we feed them and making sure they get more exercise. There are also such things as underwater treadmills for dogs now..!

I think it's shameful that we're allowing our dogs and cats to become so obese but when you see how some parents allow their kids to remain so overweight and feed them all the candy and chips they want then what hope do their pets have?