• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Combatting Obesity in Pets and People: A One Health Approach

August 14, 2017
JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

A One Health framework between human and veterinary healthcare professionals provides a novel approach to treating and preventing obesity in pets and humans.

As reported in a recent Journal of Comparative Pathology review article, a One Health framework that fosters communication between human and veterinary health care professionals provides a novel approach to combating pet and human obesity.

Obesity is a persistent global health problem in both pets and people, despite years of obesity research and an obsession—particularly in the United States—with weight loss. In fact, nearly half of all pets and one-third of people in America are obese. Confronting obesity, however, is challenging due to the complexity of the problem and barriers to maintaining long-term weight loss.

A One Health framework, the article’s authors believe, can provide novel solutions to combat obesity on both the individual and societal levels.

RELATED:

  • Veterinary Oncology: One Health
  • AVMA 2017: Insights for One Health from Millennia Past

Communication Within Disciplines

In addition to interdisciplinary collaboration, the authors proposed communication strategies within veterinary and human medicine to address obesity.

Veterinary Medicine

Pet obesity is often a difficult topic to address in veterinary medicine. Clients may become offended when told their pet is obese, or discouraged if the prescribed weight loss plan isn’t successful. In addition, a veterinary health care team may send mixed messages to a client about his or her pet’s obesity.

The authors highlighted 4 key aspects of successfully combating pet obesity:

Advertisement
  • Proper diagnosis
  • Whole team involvement
  • Focus on the patient and client
  • Follow-up and readjustments, if needed

To discuss obesity effectively, communication with the client should be motivational and tailored to his or her “stage of change,” which can range from resistance to action. Also, defined forms of exercise, like planned walks, should be encouraged in addition to weight loss diets.

Human Medicine

Currently, physicians are expected to discuss weight during patient visits and document whether a patient’s body mass index (BMI) indicates obesity; such expectations create reluctance and unease regarding weight discussions. The authors recommended focusing less on BMI and more on a “health at every size” philosophy that promotes increased physical activity and healthy eating.

For example, Kaiser Permanente uses an “exercise vital sign” (EVS) to assess whether patients are meeting the US guidelines for physical activity. EVS is measured along with other vitals and can be the starting point for recommending forms of moderate exercise.

The One Health Approach

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association One Health Committee proposed 2 areas of focus to combat pet and human obesity: (1) the human-animal bond and (2) comparative and translational clinical research.

The strength of the human-animal bond can be leveraged to reduce pet and human obesity by increasing motivation and adherence to a weight loss plan. The People and Pets Exercising Together study was the first to illustrate the benefit of this bond in obese pets and people. In the study, people saw their pets as forms of social support to encourage physical activity.

Comparative and translational clinical research using companion animals serves several beneficial purposes, the authors noted, including:

  • Improved understanding of obesity’s causes
  • Evaluation of specific dietary components and weight loss strategies
  • Development of new, validated technologies to measure physical activity

Looking Forward

To promote a One Health framework to prevent and treat obesity, the authors proposed several actions to take:

  • Advocate for One Health policy initiatives that address obesity
  • Publicize and promote funding for One Health—focused research
  • Foster interdisciplinary communication through informational websites and symposia

Realizing the potential of a One Health approach to fighting obesity, the authors wrote, “will take the efforts and leadership of a committed group of like-minded individuals representing a range of scientific and medical disciplines.”

Dr. JoAnna Pendergrass received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Following veterinary school, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Dr. Pendergrass is the founder and owner of JPen Communications, a medical communications company.


Advertisement

Latest News

Drug for acute onset of canine pancreatitis is launched on the US market

New Automatic 2-in-1 Pet Feeder and Water Dispenser launched

PetHub launches AI tools for pet owners

Prairie dog pups emerge from underground at Maryland Zoo

View More Latest News
Advertisement