Presentation on Obesity

1. OBESITY
Prepared By

2. Introduction
• It is a medical condition in which excess body fat(adipose tissue) has
accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health
• It is generally defined as occurring when an animal's body weight is at
least 20% greater than its optimal body weight
• It is associated with metabolic and hormonal changes
• It plays an important roles in health, welfares and quality of life
• The incidence of obesity continues to climb worldwide, making it
imperative that animal models sharing characteristics of human
obesity and its co-morbidities be developed in the quest for novel
preventions and/or treatments.
• Obesity is an epidemic problem in the world and is associated with
several health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
respiratory failure, muscle weakness, and cancer.

3. Causes
• Weight gain will occur when an animal is in a positive energy balance,
meaning energy provided as calories in the diet exceed calories
expended
• Due to excessive food intake or lack of physical exercise
• Reward and treat our pets, which contributes to overfeeding
• Pets are confined to a house or small yard which are not regularly
exercised
• In cats, neutering increases the risk of obesity, partly because the
alteration in sex hormones after neutering lowers the basal metabolic
rate, and partly because neutered cats have a reduced inclination to
roam compared to non-neutered cats

4. Checking if your dog is overweight
To check if your dog is overweight, there are a few simple checks you
can do:
• You should be able to see and feel the outline of your dog's ribs
without excess fat covering.
• You should be able to see and feel your dog's waist and it should be
clearly visible when viewed from above.
• Your dog's belly should be tucked up when viewed from the side.
Note- If your dog does not pass these checks, or if you are in any doubt,
consult your vet. They will be able to provide a health check and if
necessary recommend a weight reduction programme.

5. Obese Dog

6. Checking if your cat is overweight
Check to see if your cat is overweight using the steps below:
• You should be able to see and feel your cats ribs, spine and hip bones.
• Your cats waist should be clearly visible when viewed from above.
• Your cats belly shouldn't be sagging underneath, there should only be
a small amount of belly fat.
Note- If your cat doesn't pass these checks speak to your vet who will be
able to provide a health check and if necessary recommend a weight-
loss programme to help them get back into tip-top condition.

7. Obese Cat

8. Complications Associated With Obesity
• We believe obesity is a serious welfare issue in pets because it can
cause suffering and can be extremely disabling. It's also likely to affect
our pet's ability to perform natural behaviours (e.g. exercise normally).
• Pet obesity can also cause serious health problems, and make existing
problems worse, which can reduce the length and quality of our pet's
life. Conditions such as:
i. diabetes
ii. heart disease
iii. respiratory distress
iv. cancers

9. Obesity-associated complications.

10. Management
• Weight management has two steps: weight loss and weight
maintenance. In the weight loss phase, energy intake from food must
be less than the energy expended each day.
• Achieving weight loss in cats and dogs is challenging, and failure to
lose weight is common.
• Medical treatments have been developed to assist dogs in losing
weight. Dirlotapide (brand name Slentrol) and mitratapide (brand name
Yarvitan) were authorized for use in the EU by the European
Medicines Agency for helping weight loss in dogs, by reducing
appetite and food intake
• To help prevent obesity in the pet ensure they maintain a healthy diet
and receive plenty of exercise.

11. References
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_pets
• https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2011/197636/
• https://www.livescience.com/10277-obesity-rise-animals.html
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5073980/