Killing Them With Kindness

By Amy Fernandez

Contrary to perceptions fostered by PETA or ASPCA, America’s pets seem to be living the high life. Multiple statistics reveal annual spending hikes in every sector of this economic nonessential. The pet industry pocketed a cool $50 billion last year. But that’s far from the only unequivocal evidence to confirm America’s relentless dedication to pampered pets.

The existence of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention illustrates the situation pretty well.  Founded in 2005 to raise awareness about a problem an APOP spokesman calls “the number one health threat to pets, bar none.” Their recently released 2014 stats confirm the rather alarming scope of this situation. 17.6 percent of America’s canine population – almost 14 million – officially qualifies as obese.

The growing population of supersize pets has spawned a multitude of innovative weight control products. Low calorie dog food has been around for awhile. Obviously, it isn’t answering the call. So this burgeoning industry sector can now offer concerned owners hydrotherapy day spas for those unfortunate animals that are too fat to exercise normally.

Less dire cases can benefit from fitbit-type health/activity monitors, dog jogging services (high powered dog walkers) and of course, personal nutritionists and trainers. None of this comes cheap, but owners are shelling out big bucks to stave off the well-documented health risks associated with obesity that typically shaves 2-3 years from a pet’s lifespan.

Unfortunately, high tech solutions and alarming veterinary reports haven’t had much corrective impact, which pretty much mirrors human health trends. Despite billions spent on fitness equipment and diet books, America’s human obesity rates have steadily climbed from 13 percent in 1962 to 20 percent in 1997, then 27 percent in 2007 to a current new high of 35.7 percent. CDC predicts that almost half the population will fall into that category by 2030.

The latest APOP stats reveal that 53 percent of our dogs are overweight, making them the current frontrunners in America’s fat race. Of course, killing them with kindness was never the objective. Another stunning APOP revelation notes that most of the problem is unintentional. Many owners are simply oblivious to their pets’ excessive food intake and expanding waistlines.

In a way, it’s not surprising. Everything is relative, and in America, big is the new normal. In the past 50 years we have become accustomed to bigger everything. On average, adults are 26 pounds heavier. The drastic decline in physical activity levels during these decades has been counterbalanced by portion sizes that increased four times during that period.  We not only eat a lot more, we eat more often. Food has morphed from mealtime ritual to an ongoing aspect of daily social interplay. Dogs are a big part our lives and we take them wherever we go; and maybe that’s the real issue.  We treat them the way we want to be treated ourselves, and in some cases we feed them in similar fashion. Feeding our pets whenever they ask for food is not an act of love, and it could be slowly killing them.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Apr 7 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.