The Doctor Weighs In

Another oldie, but goodie -- I am at the American Diabetes Association Leadership meetings in Dallas this week.  I hope you enjoy these reposts until I am able to return to my everyday blogging life .  Here goes: 

Great news today for Hubert, the Beaglebasset.  He had his annual physical today and we learned that he has lost 9 pounds!  He now weighs 52 pounds.  He was 61 pounds a year ago, so this is an almost 15% loss of total body weight.  Yay, Hubert! 

The vet says he still needs to lose 7 more, but he was quite proud of Hubert's accomplishment.  I guess most of his patients never get to their weight loss goals.

How did "we" do this?  No surprise!  Portion control and exercise.  When Hubert was at his maximum weight, he was eating two full bowls of chow with canned "wet stuff" mixed in twice a day.  And, because he was such a good boy, he also got to devour 1 or 2 or 3 Milk Bones as well.  He also was a successful dinner table begger.  He will eat almost anything (even some vegetables). 

 I thought I was being a good dog mother--passing my love to him via food.  Once we (or rather my husband) decided enough was enough, Hubert got put on a diet.  He gets only 1.5  (measured cup) of dry dog food each evening.  He now gets an occasional Milk Bone (I had to give him one to get him to pose for his photos).  And he gets nothing from our plates (he still begs, though).  We also instituted an exercise program with 2 one hour walks per day.  About a week ago, we added running to his regimen.  He is looking sleek.

Twenty-five to forty percent of the 67 million dogs and 77 million cats in the United States are overweight.  Sixty-six percent of American human beings are likewise overweight.  Animals, like humans, suffer from the same types of problems with their health as we do when the fat gets out of control.  So we now have millions of dogs and cats with diabetes, heart problems and weight-related joint problems.  When I was growing up, I didn't know anyone who had a pet on insulin.  Now it seems most of my friends are rushing home from work to inject an affected pet.

Vetrinarian, George Fahey, of the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Iowa says, "While there have been no studies on this particular question, there appears to be anecdotal evidence that there is a correlation between overweight owners and overweight pets."  He goes on to point out that 50 years ago, most dogs and cats lived outdoors.  They got plenty of exercise.  However, once we moved our pets inside, they have become the "animal equivalent of couch potatoes."

Now. one difference between our pets and ourselves, as my vet pointed out today, is that their food intake and physical activity is not subject to vagaries of will power (at least not their own will power).   For the most part, we, the human owners, control what they eat and when and how much they exercise.   So here's my suggestion, as you are working on eating better and exercising more, include your pet in your diet and exercise plan: control the portions and expand the walks.  It is a prescription that is good for them and good for you as well.

Yay, Hubert Beaglebassett, you are really getting in shape. Yay!

This blog was originally publsihed on the PEERtrainer website (www.peertrainer.com) on May 2, 2006.