Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disease in companion animals and causes significant preventable suffering.
Pet obesity causes genuine suffering that is largely invisible to owners who see their animals as happy and well-loved. An overweight dog still wags its tail; an obese cat still purrs. But beneath these signals of contentment, obesity causes chronic joint inflammation, respiratory compromise, and reduced quality of life. Helping owners understand that appropriate weight is a welfare issue — not a cosmetic concern — is one of veterinary medicine's most important challenges.