Contents
Why weight management is important
Young pets and weight management
Adult pets and weight management
Senior pets and weight management
The science of weight management
Quick hits: The factors involved in your pet’s weight
How can I tell if my pet is a healthy weight?
How do I decide what to feed my dog?
Metabolic diets: What are they and are they right for my pet?
Why weight management is important
Weight is an important factor in pet health throughout their lives, regardless of their species or circumstance. But while the issue is always there, the factors behind it vary throughout a pet’s life. In particular, their energy requirements and nutritional needs will change as they age. Sometimes it can be easy as an owner to get caught out, not knowing at what stages those requirements may alter.
And we all know how hard it is to spot whether our pet has gained or lost weight when we see them every day. It happens that owners don’t notice changes until it becomes very obvious and starts to have implications on their pet’s lifestyle. However, if weight gain does occur, it can lead to diabetes, arthritis, incontinence, high blood pressure, heart disease – a huge list of diseases and symptoms. As well as this, by carrying more weight a pet is more prone to injuring themselves and suffering from mobility issues.
So it goes without saying that prevention of obesity and hitting a good, healthy weight for your pet can in itself prevent a whole range of maladies. Because of the variance of needs at different stages of their lives, it is crucial that we understand diet and exercise requirements, and give our pets the lifestyle they need to live long, happy and healthy lives.
Young pets and weight management
With young, juvenile pets, they can have either a positive or negative energy balance. If it’s positive they could be putting on weight faster than their bones and frame are developing, and if it’s negative they could be growing too slowly and seeing stunted development. That’s why we highlight the importance of regularly keeping a track of your new pet’s weight over the first year to 18 months of their lives, giving you the best chance to spot any problems and react swiftly. If we get the first year – the growing phase – right, then pet’s will generally live a longer and healthier life.
Adult pets and weight management
In the adult years we generally see weight gain as the major problem. Pets that are overweight generally have less vitality for life, and according to a study from the University of Liverpool on weight’s effect on lifespan, obesity will reduce the life expectancy of a dog by an average of two years. Those are two years that you could have spent enjoying your pet’s company. That’s why it’s important to track your pet’s diet and weight – and if you notice any changes in their body shape or behaviour, to bring them in to see us as soon as possible.
Senior pets and weight management
Generally, as pets enter their senior years they become less active and exercise less – which means their energy requirements will also drop. However, it can also be the case that they suffer from muscle wastage, which can lead to weight loss and can also lead to its own health implications. We have discussed how to care for senior pets in greater detail elsewhere on our website. Ultimately if you do have a pet that is in perfect condition, regardless of their age, regular weight checks – a couple of trips in to see us a year – can be really helpful to make sure you keep them that way, that your eye isn’t wandering, their diet is stable and everything is as it should be.
The science of weight management
We frequently see pets suffering from being overweight in practice, and various studies show that this is consistent with wider society. While we haven’t done the exact maths of drawing together those studies, as a rule of thumb findings show that one in three cats and one in four dogs are overweight. This is a major problem.
When talking to clients we like them to be aware that there has been a change in the science around obesity in pets. Until fairly recently there was a feeling that having excess tissue was benign and inert, acting as an energy store and an insulator for the body. Actually, as research has continued, we have found that excess fat is metabolically active and has inflammatory qualities – leading to chronic inflammation. Most of us understand what acute inflammation is: you fall over and hurt something, and your body releases acute inflammation which rushes into where you’ve been hurt and provides healing qualities, before subsiding.
Chronic inflammation is more like a long-term, low-grade disrupter to the body, almost acting as a consistent fire that the body has to continuously fight over time. That then has knock-on effects to the rest of the body, including changing how hormones are released, including the hormone leptin, which tells us how full we are. What happens is that the body over-releases leptin, until eventually the body stops responding to it – and so the ability to understand when enough food has been consumed is reduced.
Obviously from that point a vicious cycle is started, with more food being consumed, more fat being stored, more inflammation, more leptin being released and the ability to feel full being further reduced. So quite apart from the illnesses that are directly caused or exacerbated by being overweight, we can see that beneath the bonnet excess tissue is having a profound effect on the way our pets’ bodies are functioning.
Download our leaflet on the science of weight management >>
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Quick hits: The factors involved in your pet’s weight
Age
Classically between two and 10 years, cats are most likely to be overweight as in this life stage they require less energy. As dogs age they become less active, and if their food isn’t reduced proportionally they can start to become overweight.
Sex
Female dogs can often be more prone to becoming overweight and on average male neutered cats tend to be more overweight.
Breed
Studies at the RVC have shown that dog breeds including pugs, beagles, border terriers, golden and Labrador retrievers, and springer, cocker and cavalier King Charles spaniels, are particularly prone to becoming overweight. Many of these dogs have been bred over time to be working dogs, when they were required to be as active as possible on as little food as possible. In a domestic environment, this balance obviously isn’t desired or required, but the metabolisms of the dogs remain the same.
With cat breeds we tend to see breeds such as Persians or British short-haired that are more prone to becoming overweight – although there is not as much research available to confirm exactly why this is.
Reproductive status
When a dog or cat is neutered their energy requirements drop and there is a change to their hormones. If you don’t take that into account when feeding them, they may put on weight – which is why we refer to them as cheaper to keep after they’ve been neutered!
It’s important to note that being neutered on its own won’t cause your pet to become overweight, that only happens if their diet is not modified accordingly.
Diet and feeding
How you feed your pet can have an effect on their weight. Measuring out portions enables us to accurately control how many calories they’re taking on board. However, over time, many owners will begin to measure portions by eye, and it is inevitable that slippage may occur. Even if portions are only slightly increased, over time this will have an effect. Other things such as giving treats without taking this into account at meal time, or feeding scraps from the table, will also contribute to your pet’s daily calorie intake.
Lifestyle
Any time that activity reduces for your pet can lead to weight gain unless their diet is adjusted accordingly. This is seen in indoor only cats as they tend to have a lower energy requirement than a cat with access to the outdoors and therefore have a lower energy requirement, as their activity levels are usually lower.
Underlying illness
Many diseases and conditions can affect your pet’s weight. Dogs may develop underactive thyroids, or a condition known as Cushing’s disease – where they develop extra cortisol and hence put on extra weight.
How can I tell if my pet is a healthy weight?
We recommend to all of our patients that they have a check with our nurses every six months, which will include a weight check. Weighing a pet at home can present clear challenges – and we recommend that if you are giving this a go, weighing yourself holding your pet and then without them, then calculating the difference, can be a good approach. You can judge their weight by touching and stroking them. Running your hands along their chest, can you feel their ribs by applying gentle pressure? If you can feel them easily, that could mean they’re underweight. If you have to push quite hard or you can’t feel them at all, they could be overweight.
Another method of judging weight is by looking at your pet from above. They should nip in at the waist before going out again at the hips. If this shape is dramatic, again they may be underweight, whereas if they are more of an oblong, that could indicate they are overweight. To get a greater sense of change, it can be beneficial to check these things at intervals. For example, you could have a stroking session where you focus on weight indicators at a time when they’re typically most relaxed, such as in front of the tv on a Sunday evening.
Another great way to monitor any changes is to take a picture of your pet against a plain backdrop at monthly intervals. These pics can be compared against each other to work out if and how body shape has changed – and can even be taken to your vet as an accurate indicator of change.
Download our leaflet how to check your pet’s weight at home >>>
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How do I decide what to feed my dog?
For all pets it is crucial that they maintain a healthy weight and eat an appropriate diet. Their energy requirements and nutritional needs will change as they age. Sometimes it can be easy as an owner to get caught out, not knowing at what stages those requirements may alter. When pets are young and growing, they require a larger amount of calories to feed their development.
On the other end of the scale, senior pets will require less calories – but it is not as simple as just giving them less food, as they still require the nutrients their diet provides. Similarly, if your pet needs to lose weight it is important to speak to us about how to assist them to lose it, as reducing the amount of food you give them could have unwanted side effects. We have seen impressive results with metabolic diets – which you can discuss with our team in your local practice or find out more about on our website.
There are a wide range of diets available online and in supermarkets which support weight management, but it is important to note that there is no regulation of claims that are put on packaging, so it is important to avoid any diets which cannot demonstrate clinical trials with verified benefits.
We follow the principles of ACCLAIM for our recommendations:
A company name or established firm that you recognise.
Clinical experience, such as companies that invest in clinical trials and who publish data for respected journals.
Content – all ingredients should be clearly indicated on the label.
Label claims should be taken with a pinch of salt – if they sound too good to be true, they probably are. Any label suggesting they treat, cure or prevent arthritis is likely to be suspect.
Administration – the dose recommendation should be accurate and easy to follow.
I – an identification number should be provided to show it is possible to monitor product quality
Manufacturer information and ideally a link to their website should be provided.
Metabolic diets: What are they and are they right for my pet?
We have seen impressive results with metabolic diets, which can offer great weight loss results without having to work out how to cut down calories while ensuring your pet receives all of the nutrients they need. As you get fatter your body reaches a tipping point when it recognises that it has enough calories within it to function, and begins to down-regulate calorie burning to preserve this. However, this means that your metabolic rate reduces and your body becomes even better at storing calories.
It is now possible to add certain supplements into weight loss diets for pets, which switch genes in the body back on to stimulate the metabolic rate and to encourage the body to begin processing calories once more. Many pets have seen significant success on metabolic diets as opposed to traditional low calorie, high fibre diets. They can be particularly useful in multi-pet households where only one pet is going on a diet, because metabolic diet food will have no effect on pets that are of a healthy weight!
