Did you know there is a National Pet Obesity Awareness Day? In its 5th year, it fell on this past October 12, and perhaps it came and went mostly unnoticed by pet parents. Yet pet obesity is a growing problem which poses serious dangers to the health of our pets. Over 50% of pets in the United States are considered overweight or obese, and it seems that this phenomenon is only on the rise.¹
Health Risks to an Overweight Pet
There are considerable health risks to pets who are overweight or obese. Obesity can and does result in several diseases, including diabetes or insulin resistance, joint problems/osteoarthritis, respiratory disorders, high blood pressure and heart disease, kidney and liver problems, and cancer.
While breed, gender and age can put your pet at risk of being susceptible to becoming overweight or obese, there are at least two areas that pet parents can help prevent their dogs and cats from putting on too many pounds. Making sure that your four-legged friend gets enough exercise is one way, and being careful about feeding habits as well as being knowledgeable about what your dog or cat is eating is the other.2
How Your Pet's Diet Can Help Reduce the Health Risks to Your Pet
There are some key factors that pet parents can look for when determining what food to feed their animal companion, whether they are looking to reduce an obese dog or cat's weight or maintain a healthy weight for their pet. The following ingredients contribute to an appropriate diet that can help pets maintain weight as well as optimal overall health:
- Low/carnivore appropriate carbohydrate: To ensure that your canine or feline is not ingesting extra sugars from the carbohydrates in their food, select a formula with a species-appropriate starch (if one is even necessary, such as in dry foods). Ingredients like potato, sweet potato and tapioca, while gluten-free, are high in sugar. Alternatively, millet is a gluten-free starch with no detectable sugar.³
- High protein from animal ingredients: In nature, dogs and cats are meat-eating predators, or carnivores. Therefore, a diet consisting of high protein from animal ingredients is most appropriate for them.
- Nutrients derived from whole foods vs. man made vitamins and minerals: Not only are synthetic vitamins not as beneficial as those derived from whole foods, there may also be considerable risk to pets ingesting them.4 Many man-made vitamins routinely added to pet foods, those not coming from the food itself, contain chemical preservatives. Some scientists are also beginning to suspect that chemicals and non-natural food sources are a less obvious but serious cause behind pet obesity.5
Nature’s Logic provides your pet with essential and complete nutrition using only 100% natural ingredients. We never add chemically-synthesized vitamins, minerals or other trace nutrients. The only carbohydrate used in our dry formulas is millet, which is gluten-free, hypo-allergenic, and lower in carbohydrates than the starches used in grain-free diets. For your natural carnivore, Nature’s Logic foods are rich in protein, derived from beef, chicken, duck, lamb, fish, venison, and rabbit. Our foods range in dry matter protein content from 31.5% to 51.69%. The care we take to formulate our all natural foods ensures that a diet of Nature's Logic is ideal for maintaining a healthy weight for your pet. For more information, visit www.natureslogic.com.
Have you ever had a pet who struggled with obesity?
No comments:
Post a Comment