Overweight in dogs and cats.

Overweight in dogs and cats.
In 2020, the National Health Survey, conducted by IBGE, reported that there was a significant increase in the prevalence of obesity in adults in Brazil. This picture is quite worrying, since obesity is the most frequent chronic disease in humans, just as it is in dogs and cats.
With the humanization of animals, smaller and smaller houses, and restricted walks due to the pandemic, the overweight rate of animals has been worrying veterinarians, considering that overweight when not controlled can lead to obesity and cause several health problems, such as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, orthopedic complications, breathing difficulties, among others.
For an animal to be considered overweight, he needs to be 15% above his ideal weight, and it is at this stage that we should start to make a food restriction to avoid future problems with an obesity picture. Following the nine-point Body Score Classification (BSC), animals included in values 6 and 7 are considered overweight, while obese animals are those included in values 8 and 9.
When you notice that an animal is above score 5 of the table, the first step is to take it to the veterinarian, so that the cause of the weight gain can be evaluated. During this nutritional assessment some factors will be analyzed, such as: the environment in which this animal lives, the amount and type of food offered, the frequency of feeding, the number of animals living in the same place, among others. All these factors are important to evaluate, calculate, and balance in the best way possible a diet with adequate amounts for the animal.
There are specific foods on the market for this phase of life, which are called Light Food. These commercial products can help the owner to control his weight, because they can control the daily energy balance and, at the same time, prevent the animal from developing some nutritional deficiency, since they are complete and balanced foods. In addition, light food has several benefits, such as noble proteins, which assist in the composition of muscle mass; low fat content, to reduce the consumption of kilocalories; high fiber content, which promotes intestinal health and helps satiety and the presence of L-carnitine, to assist in weight loss.
It is important to remember that puppies should not follow restricted diets, because they are in the developmental stage. An unbalanced diet in this phase of life can cause damage to the health of these animals. Therefore, light food should only be consumed by adult animals.
During the weight loss process with a specific and balanced diet, it is important that the veterinary follow-up is done at least once a month, because the fruits of the effort between owner and pet are a few weekly grams that, when added together, make all the difference.
In addition, whenever the animal manages to lose a little weight, it is necessary to adjust the amount of food, to avoid the stress of the prolonged feeling of hunger of this animal.
Another important point is the inadequate supply of snacks and treats, which can compromise the entire strategic planning of weight loss. Most of the time, the treats are very caloric and have few nutrients for the animal, which ends up exceeding the recommended daily caloric intake. If it is not possible to completely remove the treats from the diet, the most interesting is to choose a treat that contains the complete caloric information on the package, and remove this amount of calories from the daily intake, thus avoiding exceeding the animal's needs.
Finally, no diet is made without physical exercises, because they are important to keep the energy balance negative and help maintain muscle mass. For sedentary animals, light, low-impact exercises of up to 30 minutes per day are recommended, such as playing and walking.