The Financial Costs, Behaviour and Psychology of Obesity: A One Health Analysis

Abstract

People who are overweight or have obesity are estimated to comprise 30% of the global population and up to 59% of companion dogs and cats are estimated to be above their optimal body weight. The prevalence of human and companion obesity is increasing. The direct and indirect costs of obesity and associated comorbidities are significant for human and veterinary healthcare. There are numerous similarities between obesity in people and companion animals, likely related to the shared environmental and lifestyle elements of this multifactorial disease. While the study of human obesity is relatively robust, research conducted in pets is generally limited to small studies, studies with cross-sectional designs or reports that have yet to be replicated. Greater understanding of human obesity may elucidate some of the factors driving the more recent rise in pet obesity. In particular, there are overlapping features of obesity in children and pets that are, in part, related to dependency on their 'parents' for care and feeding. When feeding is used in a coercive and controlling fashion, it may lead to undesirable feeding behaviour and increase the risk for obesity. A 'responsive parenting' intervention teaches parents to respond appropriately to hunger-satiety cues and to recognize and respond to others' distress. Such interventions may impact on childhood overweight and obesity and have the potential to be adapted for use with companion animals. Social behaviour towards people with obesity or owners of pets with obesity is often driven by beliefs about the cause of the obesity. Educating healthcare professionals and the public about the multifactorial nature of this complex disease process is a fundamental step in reducing the bias and stigma associated with obesity. Children living in low-income households have particularly high rates of obesity and as household income falls, rates of obesity also rise in pets and their owners. There are risk regulators (i.e. dynamic components of interconnected systems that influence obesity-related behaviours) and internal factors (i.e. biological determinants of obesity) that may influence the development of both childhood and pet obesity, and poverty may intersect with these variables to exacerbate obesity in low-income environments. This review discusses the costs, behaviours and psychology related to obesity in people and pets, and also proposes potential techniques that can be considered for prevention and treatment of this disease in pets. A 'One Health' approach to obesity suggests that an understanding of human obesity may elucidate some of the factors driving the more recent rise in pet obesity.

Association between life span and body condition in neutered client‐owned dogs

“…A final possible reason for euthanasia is financial, whereby the costs of pet ownership and, sometimes, costs of treatment might sway the decision for euthanasia. In a recent review, the financial impact of a dog having obesity and obesity‐related disease was estimated to be approximately $2000 per year . Given that the current study was retrospective, the reasons for death or euthanasia were not always recorded.…”

The effects of weekly motivational phone calls on the amount of leisure sports activities and changes in physical fitness

“…From a health perspective, increasing physical fitness and reducing adipose tissue is important as physical fitness and overweight are considered independent predictors of several cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and allcause mortality [24][25][26][27]. Thus, the present results indicate that weekly counseling might be one preventive measure to improve health in the general population and hence to also reduce health-care-related costs [25]. Some limitations of the present study have to be mentioned.…”

Calories delivered by nonhuman primate foraging enrichment: Data and methods to inform decisions concerning the dietary consequences of enrichment

“…In particular, one specific potential negative outcome identified in recent studies is the potential for increased body weight as a function of increased caloric intake via foods used in environmental enrichment. Increases in the body weight of captive animals have been observed over time in a number of different species (Klimentidis, et al, 2011) is a common concern in veterinary practice (Lund 2005;Lund 2006;German, 2006; for review see Bomberg et al 2017) and weights have increased over time within the nonhuman primate colony at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC; Terasawa, et al, 2012). However, there is currently no empirical data on the degree to which increased weight of captive nonhuman primates is observed across research facilities.…”