Is it OK for a dog to be slightly overweight

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated November 18, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Being a Little Overweight Might Be Good For Your Health

For years, the message was simple: too much body fat is a bad thing.

In the extreme, thats still true. Severely obese people are still at higher risk of a litany of ailments. But recently, a more nuanced view has emerged. Maybe a little pudginess isnt such a bad thing. In fact, some people may be healthier because of it.

For a little over a decade, Katherine Flegal has been poring over health data as it relates to peoples weight. What she and her colleagues found surprised herand others.

Heres Harriet Brown, reporting for Quartz:

Flegal found the lowest mortality rates among people in the overweight to mildly obese categories. Its true that these groups are slightly more likely to suffer from heart disease and some other life-threatening conditions in the first place. But many factors influence the likelihood of a person getting heart disease. And a strong link between weight and disease only emerges among people with severe obesity. So taken at face value, the results seemed to be showing that a little extra weight is genuinely beneficial.

Two years ago, a large meta-analysis of 97 studies showed that people with an overweight BMI were 6% less likely to die. It jibed with another, slightly earlier study , which noted that the effect of extra weight increases as people age, too. That study had produced a series of U-shaped curves that plotted body-mass index against risk of death. As people grow older, the trough of the curvethe BMI at which people are least likely to diemoves into ever higher BMIs. By the time a person is in their 70s, the statistically optimal BMI is around 26, or solidly in the overweight category.

These findings have certainly found their detractors, though as Brown notes in her article, the evidence increasingly supports Flegals so-called obesity paradox.

Our understanding of relationship between weight and health is clearly more complex and nuanced than it was in the 1960s when the standards for healthy weight were first codified. Were understanding how the health of people with different ethnic backgrounds are affected by weight, for example, and people of different ages. As we grow more sophisticated in our studies, dont be surprised if things change further.

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Photo credit: Paolo Kizette Cimenti/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND)

Weight management: Is my dog overweight?

If youre unsure if your dog is overweight then youre not alone. Many owners find it difficult to spot when their dog is overweight and some are unable to tell what a healthy size should look like - but why is this? Seeing your dog every day can make it incredibly tricky to notice slow weight gain and subtle changes to their body shape. Also, obesity currently affects between 30-60% of dogs, and this rising trend means that it is now increasingly common for us to see overweight dogs out and about. This new normal can trick us into thinking that the natural body shape of a dog is larger than it actually is.

Is it dangerous for my dog to be overweight?

Overweight dogs are more likely to have a shorter lifespan and can suffer from the same sorts of health problems that overweight humans do, such as heart disease and diabetes. Being overweight can also put a strain on your dogs back and joints, leading to pain and even arthritis.

What are the signs that my dog may be overweight?

If your dog shows any of the signs below it could be an indication that they are overweight.

Are you unable to see a clear waist? If you look from above and the side, their body should go in between their ribs and hips
Is it difficult to feel their ribs if you run your hands along their side?
Is their face larger and rounder than it should be?
Is their neck thick and fatty?
Are they reluctant to exercise?
Do they find it hard to go for walks?
Do they get out of breath more easily?
Are they often tired or sleep a lot?

If the answer to any of these questions was yes, then it may be time to find out more about whether your dog is overweight.

How can I tell if my dog is overweight?

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Its very difficult to work out a perfect weight for every type of dog, so putting them on the scales isnt always the best way to see if they are overweight. A better way is to check their shape, or the contours of their profile. A dogs ideal weight will differ between breed types, but a healthy shape will be similar for most kinds of dog. A good way to help you assess their body shape is to use body condition scores.

What is body condition scoring?

Body condition scoring is a useful tool that helps you understand more about the shape and size of your dog. This resource enables you to compare your dog to images of other dogs and place them on a scale that ranges from underweight to overweight. Regardless of your dog's age, size or breed type, these scoring systems can be used to help you see if your dog has any issues with their weight, and to what degree. Below you can find links to a number of different body condition scoring systems.

How can I help my dog lose weight?

If your dog is overweight, then helping to reduce their size can significantly improve their health and happiness. Youll need to help your dog balance the food they eat with the exercise they do, and the best place to start is with advice from your vet. Your vet can help you create a plan of action and give you information on the best and healthiest ways to help your dog lose weight.

Where can I find out more about losing weight?

Think your dog may be affected?

If you're worried about your dog's health, always contact your vetimmediately!

We're not a veterinary organisation and so we can't give veterinary advice, but if you're worried about any of the issues raised in this article, please contact your local vet practice for further information.

Find a vet near you

If you're looking for a vet practice near you, why not visit the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons'Find a vetpage.

Fat Chance: Being Slightly Overweight Is Actually Good For Your Health?

High BMI may increase the risk for many health problems. However, some studies show that slightly overweight people live longer, have reduced risk of dementia, and better tolerate the same health problems than those with normal weight.

With the growing number of overweight people around us, obesity is slowly but surely becoming socially acceptable. Nobody is surprised by rather fat models, singers and TV presenters anymore. In fact, many people argue that being a bit overweight, particularly after a certain age, is perfectly normal. Are they correct?

Some surprising recent scientific findings do fly in the face of classic medical concepts about the norms of body weight. It appears that a bit of fat can indeed bring some benefits, not only problems.

BMI As An Approximate Measure Of Health

Body mass index (BMI), also known as the Quetelet index, is a parameter indicating whether someone is at a normal weight, underweight, overweight, or obese. It measures weight in relation to the individual's height and gives a certain score. Depending on this score, a person is classified into one of four weight categories:

Underweight: BMI below 18.5
Normal weight: BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
Overweight: BMI of 25 to 29.9
Obesity: BMI of 30 or higher

Excessive BMI may increase the risks of many health problems, such as diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, angina pectoris, heart disease, heart and brain strokes, certain types of cancer, sleep apnea, kidney disease, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, pregnancy problems such as pregnancy hypertension and diabetes, and increased risk of cesarean delivery.

BMI measures should be taken with a bit of caution.

For instance, professional athletes and bodybuilders in particular often appear to be overweight on the BMI scale.However, their higher BMI scores are linked to a higher muscular mass, rather than fat. So BMI is a measure more suitable for an average Joe.

How Does Body Fat Benefit Your Health?

However, recent studies have revealed that being slightly overweight may, in fact, improve a person's health and even lower their risk of mortality. Researchers discovered that an enzyme called nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) secreted by the body's fat tissue controls the energy level in the brain and its response to a lack of food. They concluded that there may be an optimal amount of body fat for maximizing health and longevity. However, scientists still do not know what amount of fat is good, and how other body parameters play their role in conjunction with fat. Many studies reported that as we get older, people who are slightly overweight tend to have fewer health problems, especially a lower risk of dementia, and also a lower mortality rate.

Scientific findings point to the importance of NAMPT in producing a vital cellular energetic compound called Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD), and in controlling the metabolism and aging processes.

Scientists already knew that NAMPT enzymes play an essential role in producing energy inside the cell, but this new study suggests that this enzyme has important activities outside the cells in the blood circulation, and that this is actually a highly active and well regulated enzyme.

READ The Fat Acceptance Movement: Why Fat Shaming Has To Stop

Mouse studies have shown surprising results. Mice were raised with a deficit of NAMPT, and, as expected, the energy levels in their fat tissue were reduced. The effects on other tissues like liver and muscle were not significant, but there was a notable effect on the hypothalamus, an important part of the brain that plays a role in regulating body temperature, sleep cycles, heart rate, blood pressure, thirst and appetite. Low levels of NAMPT in fat tissue of mice resulted in low energy levels in the hypothalamus, and lower physical activity compared to mice without this defect.

How To Tell If Your Labrador Is Overweight and what to do about it

Worried that your Labrador is overweight? Here are the signs that he might need to drop a few pounds, and some easy ways for you to help him lose weight. Todays guest post is by Kate OBrien from the Slimdoggy website

Labradors are known for their appetites. As a result of those healthy appetites and their ability to charm humans intofeeding them, they also are known for being a little chunky or in reality, overweight.

Labs are sporting dogs and are meant to run, swim, hunt and retrieve all day long. If your Labrador is overweight, you might worry that you are limiting his ability to do these things. In order to do that they must be healthy, strong and fit, not fat. Maybe you dont hunt with your Lab; many if not most Labs are family pets, but that doesnt mean they should be couch potatoes with an extra layer or two of fat.

A growing problem

Overweight dogs are a growing problem, pun intended. In the UK it is estimated that over one-third of all dogs are overweight¹ and in the US, that figure rises to an astounding 54%.²Labs are particularly susceptible to obesity and in the US, over 60% are overweight.

Why should we worry? What difference does it make if Buddy has a few extra pounds? Well, if you love Buddy and want him to live a long life, it makes a difference.

Weight and longevity

In the first-ever lifelong canine diet restriction study, a group of Labrador Retrievers was followed for 14 years, from birth until death.

They found that a dogs median life span can be extended by 15%, nearly two years for the Labs in the study, by restricting their diet to maintain ideal body condition.³

By keeping your Lab lean and fit you could extend their life for TWO YEARS. Thats a lot of extra time to spend with your best friend.

A lean dog also has fewer health and joint problems. Labs have a natural propensity for hip and elbow issues but keeping them fit helps keep arthritis at bay. Other serious diseases linked to being overweight include cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and some forms of cancer.

Is my dog too fat?

Convinced you want to keep your dog fit, but dont know how to tell if they are at the proper weight? You are not alone. In the same survey from PDSA, they report that only 17% of owners look at body shape and weight before deciding how much to feed their pet, and 85% of vets say owners have no idea of healthy body shape for their pet.⁴

We wanted to offer a few suggestions to help you assess the body condition of your Lab.

The first thing is to have an honest look at them. There are numerous body conformation charts for dogs you can use as a guide. We provide links to several different at the end of this article. Whichever chart you prefer, they all depict a waistline when looking at your dog from above and a slight tuck up behind the ribs. Take that guide and go look at your dog.Many folks argue that a Lab isnt supposed to have a tuck or a waist, but that standard is for show Labs and lets be honest, some of those show dogs are overweight. The reality for most of you is that your dog isnt a show dog, so having a tuck and being leaner than the show dogs you see on TV is better for their health and longevity.
The second evaluation you can perform is whether you feel their ribs when you run your hands lightly over the sides of your dog. Note I said lightly, you shouldnt have to press in; you should easily feel them. Actually seeing the ribs of your Lab might mean your dog is too thin, so be careful of that as well.
The scale is the third tool to use in your assessment. Weigh your dog and ask your Vet about their weight. Many vets are reluctant to bring up the subject of your pet being overweight, but if you express your concern, they will most likely give you an honest assessment. Be open to what they say.

What should he weigh?

The average Lab will weigh somewhere between 60-85 lbs or between 27-30 kgs. Use this range as a guide but be aware that some Labs with smaller or larger bone structures can be outside of the range and still be perfectly fit and at their optimal weight. Once you have an idea of whether your Lab is overweight or not, what do you do if they are?

Feeding for health

First and foremost, you have to educate yourself about what you are feeding your dog. Reading the dog food label and following what it says doesnt work. Those labels dont take into account the current condition of your dog, their age or their exercise level, all of which are important factors in how much your dog should eat each day. And they clearly dont take into account those extra treats you give your dog!

Most people dont properly measure their dogs food or even know how many calories are in the food they give them each day.

What about exercise?

Do you have any idea how many calories your dog burns each day? How can you figure out how many calories they need to eat if you dont know how many they burn? Too much work you say, just throw a scoop or two (or three) of food in the bowl and be done with it? Thats how you end up with an overweight and unhealthy Lab.

Theres an app for that!

Figuring this out really isnt as hard as it sounds because, of course theres an iPhone APP for that.

The SlimDoggy App is a simple App with a Daily Diary that allows you to look up and track all of this information for your dog. Like a Runkeeper and Weightwatchers for dogs, the App provides average daily calorie expenditures for a dog as well as calories burned through various types of exercise. It also has a database of over 2,500 dog foods and treats.

The Diary feature allows you to create a diary for your dog and calculate exactly how much they should be eating based on their daily exercise. The food database helps you pick the healthiest diet and the proper amount of food to feed them each day.

Dont have an iPhone? No problem, visit the SlimDoggy website and use the Calorie Widget. Soon we will have a full version of the App available on the website too! There are no excuses now.

Lets have healthy labs!

We all love our Labs and we want them to be in our lives for as long as possible and we want them as healthy as possible. Dogs dont have opposable thumbs, they cant feed themselves, and it is our responsibility to feed them a healthy nutritious diet of the proper proportions so that they are lean, fit and healthy. And then instead of giving them a treat, take them for a walk that is the best way to show your Lab you love them.

Kate OBrien and her husband, Steve, live in Camarillo, CA, with their dogs SlimDoggy Jack and Maggie May, senior Lab rescues. They are animal advocates and are active in the dog rescue and foster community. They write about their adventures with their dogs and about pet obesity, health, and fitness on theSlim Doggy website,Facebook, and Twitter.

Kate has had dogs in her life since she was a child, including the collies her grandfather used to breed and show. Allergies interfered, but then in adulthood Kate was able to bring dogs back into her life. Shes had numerous Labs, a couple of litters of puppies and many Lab fosters. Shes been able to share her love of exercise and fitness with her dogs and they inspire her to help other learn about better health, nutrition & fitness for their dogs.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

FOOTNOTES

¹PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report The State of Our Pet Nation, 2013

²Association for Prevention of Pet Obesity Annual Survey Report 2012

³Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs, Kealey, Richard et.al., JAVMA Vol 220, No. 990, May 1, 2012

⁴PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report The State of Our Pet Nation, 2013