Preliminary investigation on the incidence of obesity in a canine population in the USA

Obesity represents the most common nutritional pathology in companion animals. At least one-third of the canine population is estimated to be overweight or obese. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional status of a canine population in the USA and assess its correlation with some specific individual factors. During a period of approximately 2 months, data concerning nutritional status, dietary management, and clinical situation were collected for 158 adult dogs. Half of the animals were overweight or obese with an average body condition score (BCS) of 3.5/5. Factors such as age, neutering, hormone and chronic arthritic disorders, and breed were significantly positively correlated with BCS. On the contrary, gender, the presence of other animals and type of food provided did not correlate with BCS. Despite the relatively low number of dogs involved, these results confirm that overweight status affects a large portion of the canine population in the USA and is influenced mainly by endogenous factors.