State of Pet Health Report Shows Chronic Diseases, Overweight, and Obesity Up Dramatically in Past 5 Years

Banfield Pet Hospital Releases State of Pet Health 2012 Report

The Banfield Pet Hospital released its State of Pet Health 2012 Report, revealing that certain chronic diseases in dogs and cats have risen drastically since 2007. The report, compiled by Banfield's internal research team, captured and analyzed medical data from the 2 million dogs and nearly 430,000 cats cared for in Banfield's 800 hospitals in 2011. The largest report of its kind, the State of Pet Health 2012 Report breaks down the data by these chronic diseases: overweight and obesity, diabetes, thyroid disease, arthritis, kidney disease, and heart disease.

This report shows that the prevalence of many chronic diseases of dogs and cats has increased dramatically, just over the last 5 years.

• Overweight and obesity up 37% in dogs and 90% in cats
• Arthritis by increased 38% in dogs and 67% in cats
• Nearly half of arthritic dogs and more than 1 in 3 arthritic cats are also overweight
• Almost half of diabetic dogs and diabetic cats  are overweight
• About 60% of dogs with hypothyroidism are also overweight
• Feline chronic kidney disease, a common cause of death in cats, increased by 15% 

The rise in pet overweight and obesity mimics the increase in humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity in humans is also on the rise. The CDC reports that overweight/obesity in humans has increased to 1 in 3 of U.S. adults.

To view and download the full State of Pet Health 2012 Report, visit www.stateofpethealth.com.