Pet Obesity Misinformation? Or Just Ignorance?

Reprinted with permission from Dr. Will Falconer

You’ve likely run into the word “misinformation” since we went through Covidiocy a few years back, right?

It was (and still is) the paint brush dipped in hot tar to obliterate any messages counter to the main stream narrative that TPTB (the powers that be) want us all to buy into. So, it was brandished against ivermectin (“You’re not a horse!”) and hydroxychloroquine (“Studies [at way too high a dose] show it’s harmful!”) and it still is against dirt cheap and apparently widely effective chlorine dioxide/MMS solutions.

Well, leave it to vet med to misuse the term.

This Vet Practice article points out our “pet obesity crisis” and sees that you are probably swayed more by social media on nutrition topics than, you know, consulting your vet who’s the clear nutrition expert (hahaha).

It seems these conclusions of misinformation come from another study done by, erm, Royal Canin. Surely no conflict of interest possible when a kibble manufacturer presents “data” related to pet food <cough>.

Findings

The Royal Canin study of more than 14,000 pet owners and 1,750 veterinary professionals across eight countries revealed nearly one in five pet owners turn to social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, for information and advice regarding nutrition, healthy weight, and obesity in pets.”

44 percent of veterinary professionals believe pet obesity has increased in the last few years, and nearly half (45 percent) agree pet owners underestimate the risks associated with overweight and obesity in pets.”

So far, so good. Obesity in pets surely must be following the increase in obesity in humans. And the average human probably underestimates how harmful that state is both in themselves and in their pets.

No earth shattering news yet, right?

Causation?

The old story of confusing treats with love ranks highly:

When asked about factors contributing to pet obesity, 41 percent of pet owners said they give their pets special treats when they seem sad, bored, or lonely.”

“Feeling down, Poopsie? Let Mommy give you something to make you happy again!”

Whoops.

And then, misinformation from the veterinary/Big Pet Food side:

Three in four feed their pets human food, with 31 percent believing doing so causes no harm.”

So, almost a third of surveyed pet owners have seen the light on “human food.”

Or have they?

If they’re obese and sharing their Happy Meal with Poopsie, they clearly are still part of the problem.

Or sugary processed food, you know the drill.

But, if Sadie gets a nice trim of raw steak before it hits the grill?

Or some raw eggs cracked over her kibble?

Big upgrade over the stuff the Royals want you to buy.

Stuck in CICO Land

Clearly more misinformation from the vet side, still somewhat common in human obesity land as well:

“There are so many choices when it comes to pet foods, as well as an explosion in the number of treats, many of which are very high-calorie,” says Gaylord. “Over-feeding is often the result of a lack of understanding of the calories contained in pet food and how much they should feed their pets daily. In addition, we’re more sedentary, so lack of exercise can also play a role in pets becoming overweight or obese.”

CICO?

The old, slow to die theory called “calories in/calories out” goes like this:

“You’re just eating/feeding your animal too much, and not getting enough exercise.“

It completely misses the facts that macronutrients differ in their ability to jerk insulin around, with carbs being famous for spiking blood glucose, while (good) fats and proteins have a negligible effect.

And, as Dr. Robert Lustig ably points out, “you’ll never lose weight if your insulin remains high.”

Here’s a great YouTube video from him that I bookmarked on this very point for you (though it’s well worth watching in its entirety).