Abordagens sobre a obesidade em cães

Abstract

The pet market is one of the fastest growing markets in Brazil. As the population grows, so does the number of people with pets and even more people humanize your animals. Many people treat their pets as true members of the family, trying to do everything so that the pet has a long and quality life, without sparing expenses to meet all their needs. Several factors may influence in the life span of the animal, but the diet is what stands out the most. It is possible to make the animal have a longer life by supplying all the nutrients that its physiology demands. However, as society evolved, many people began to adopt the lifestyle of the big city, especially in developed countries. People have well-defined and restricted schedules with little free time, which leads to a sedentary lifestyle and the search for practical and fast foods, which often have large amounts of energetics and a poor nutritional balance. These factors promote the development of obesity and as a result of the humanization of pets, pets end up following this new lifestyle. In addition, owners are not always aware of their pets nutritional needs, how and what food to provide, nor the importance of a balanced diet. As a consequence, cases of obesity among pets have grown worldwide, making obesity one of the most common diseases in dogs. The objective of this work was to explore the concepts, the possible causes, factors that influence and how to treat or prevent obesity in dogs.