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A survey by Hill's Pet Nutrition has concluded that nine out of ten vet professionals believe UK pets are at serious risk of diet related diseases, mirroring the trends seen in human health, and the recession has increased the risk.
The study of more than 100 veterinary professionals suggests their daily case loads are weighed down with a host of serious man-made dietary-related problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, simply because owners are not feeding their pets appropriately. These problems are on the increase as a result of owners switching to lower quality food or feeding a man-made diet of crisps and chocolate.
Pet Obesity Task Force Committee Member and Veterinary Nutritionist, Dr Daniel Chan, DVM, DACVECC, DACVN, MRCVS said: "As a nation, our modern lifestyles of fast food, large food portions, and too little exercise are taking a toll on our health, our children's health, and now our pet's health. Excessive calories and lack of physical activity are leading to alarming rates of obesity, which has become the most common form of malnutrition in pets today. As the links between obesity and disease are becoming clearer, it is vital that pet owners adopt healthier practices such as feeding appropriate portions of food, avoiding too many snacks and treats, and exercise with their pets."
Despite obesity being the most physically obvious diet-related disease in the UK, the vet professionals who participated in the study agreed unanimously that owners do not realise their much-loved but overweight pet is actually suffering from malnutrition.
The vet professionals were also in agreement that not all pet foods are the same, believing to some degree you get what you pay for. Yet worryingly, 83% of vet professionals believe our pet's health has been another casualty of the economic downturn, as cutbacks in the family budget saw trading-down on pet food. Vets suggest the effects of these cutbacks will lead to increases in cases of diet related diseases in the next two years, with a surge in potentially fatal conditions such as diabetes (61%), intestinal problems and pancreatitis (66%).
Adrian Pratt BVSc MRCVS, Hill s Pet Nutrition Veterinary Affairs Manager, said: The results make sombre reading. Almost all (98%) of the vet professionals who participated report seeing a host of preventable diseases in practice which are the result of inappropriate feeding. While obesity tends to be caused by an excess of empty calories and too little exercise, inadequate nutrients or excess nutrients like salt, will also affect a pet s general health and wellbeing, leading to sickness or long-term diet-related diseases.
Other findings of the study included:
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Firstly, yes I agree that obesity has become more and more common in practice, but as to it being taken seriously by all veterinary professionals? - I dont think so.
Its ok to raise the hue and cry now about obesity problem but it hasnt happened overnight - we knew it was coming there simply wasnt enough done by way of education.
Practices recommending and selling pet food there are two types - 1) those that care about the pet and often run effective weight management programmes and 2) those that superficially care for your pet but on a deeper level care more about the monthly sales figures and so long as you come in every month or so for your bag or food you are left to your own devices. They have no real interest in whether the pet loses weight or not.
There are a bewildering variety of foods out there and whilst yes some people are feeding unsuitable diets because of economics there are people out there feeding less than suitable diets because they dont understand the unnecessarily complicated jargon on the bag
Economic downturn leading to lower food sales - Mars and Colgate/Palmolive both huge multi national companies,'fingers in lots of pies' so probably not feeling the pinch as keenly as some of us. I appreciate the cost of grain and raw materials went up, the cost of transport went up, the cost of production or packaging went up or whatever the current explanation for price rises. Right now people are busy sorting out their own personal economic downturns, its not just about not having a wage rise this year for some its not having a job this year so yes when it comes down to feeding the family or feeding the pet a quality food guess who loses out? ie if you have a family living on 'smartprice' or 'value' range from the supermarkets are they really going to splash out on a bag of food for the dog which might be equal to their weekly earnings? (and no that isnt an exaggeration) It doesnt mean they dont care about the animals health, they are living within their means. If companies were willing to lower their profit margin then they would be selling more food. (both of my cats are fed Hills and since I started using it in 2005 the price of a 4kg bag has gone up by over £7 which I feel is excessive - yes its a good product but I find it hard to justify this expense at the moment)