Bulldog Obesity How to Deal with Negative Body Image in Pets

Obesity and body image

Abstract

Modern western culture emphasizes thinness, denigrates excess weight, and stigmatizes obese individuals, making it likely that obese people internalize these messages and feel badly about the physical presence that brands them. There is clear evidence that obesity is linked with poor body image, but not all obese persons suffer from this problem or are equally vulnerable. Risk factors identified thus far are degree of overweight, being female, and binge eating, with some evidence of risk increasing with early age of onset of obesity, race, and several additional factors. Treatments do exist for improving body image in overweight individuals. Key questions are how to identify those in need of body image intervention, how such programs can be integrated with weight loss treatments, and ultimately, how body image distress can be prevented.

Obesity in Dogs: A Major Health Threat Hiding in Plain Sight

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Theres a weight problem in America and it isnt just affecting humans.

The most recent statistics classify the majority of dogs in the U.S.56%as overweight or obese. While that makes obesity a major health crisis for dogs, its a problem thats often overlooked, as many pet owners may not even realize their pets are overweight.

I see people coming in constantly with 90-pound Labs and they say, she looks great, says Dr. Ernie Ward, DVM, CVFT, and founder of theAssociation for Pet Obesity Prevention(APOP). Well, actually, that dog is 15 pounds overweight. But weve normalized it. This kind of dog embodies what APOP has called the fat pet gapthe misalignment between what we think a dog should look like and what a healthy body composition should really be.

Obesity in dogs comes with significant consequences. In fact, Ward and other vets call it our pets biggest health threat. And its not an isolated issue; obesity is linked to a whole raft of health problems including arthritis, chronic kidney disease, bladder/urinary tract disease, liver disease, low thyroid hormone production, diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, and cancer. We think its very important that people understand this isnt just a cosmetic issue, says Dr. Ward. There is a physiological consequence to this.

A slimmer margin of error

While obesity is loosely defined as 30% above ideal body weight (there is no universally accepted definition forpets), veterinary experts say just being overweight impacts pet health. And thats one of the challenges in addressing this issuemany pet owners may simply not realize thereisan issue.

You look at your dog and it seems healthy and its active and doesnt have any apparent health issues, says Ward. So you say, its normal, and by extension its morphology, or its size, is normal. But the problem is that we often dont know what what normal is when it comes to dogs, so we project our own human-centric perspective. In human terms, we think we just need to drop five pounds, says Ward. Well, the amount of physiological impact of a few pounds is much, much greater and more concentrated in pets than in people. Five pounds on a cat is catastrophic. Five pounds on a Lab is significant. We think a few pounds off my Lab; what could the consequence of that be..? But the consequences are that Labs hips are deteriorating, its causing damage to the kidneys, its probably causing high blood pressure which is causing a constellation of problems, and its increasing cancer risk.

Dr. Carol Osborne, an integrative veterinarian at Chagrin Falls Pet Clinic in Ohio, echoes the fact that a dog doesnt have to be clinically obese to experience health consequences. Being just 10% overweight decreases a dogs lifespan by one-third and predisposes him to heart, kidney and liver disease as well as diabetes, arthritis,and cancer, she says.

Osborne says that adipose tissue (aka fat) is filled with blood vessels, and the added rich blood creates inflammation. This all creates an environment attractive to cancer cells and increases a dogs risk of developing the disease, she says.

Cancer is the number one killer of dogs today, says Osborne.

And, for some smaller breeds, extra pounds make a huge difference. Three extra pounds for canines in the toy category is the equivalent of gaining approximately 30 pounds for you or me, she says.

Holistic veterinarian and researcher Dr. Jean Dodds, of Hemopet veterinary center in California, says the health effects of having even a marginally overweight dog include reduced energy with resultant less exercise, easy keeper (gains weight on small amounts of food), skin and hair coat conditions, and irregular female reproductive cycles, if intact.

Conversely, obese dogs may benefit from even just slight weight loss. According to aclinical trial published in 2010,obese dogs with osteoarthritis showed a significant decrease in lameness from weight loss starting at 6.10%.

Another study,published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2018 found that being overweight was associated with a shorter lifespan in the 12 dog breeds studied. The estimated reduction in lifespan for the overweight group was up to two-and-a-half years.

We look at a dog with obesity and if a dog loses as little as 6% body weightthats six pounds on a 100-pound Retrieverit makes a difference, says Ward. It doesnt take a lot of weight loss to make the pet feel better. I really try to emphasize that when Im talking to (pet owners) because its a quality of life issue as much as a longevity and disease-prevention issue.

Osborne says shes seen this quality of life improvement from weight loss time and again. One of her clients came in with a two-year-old male Pomeranian named Smokey that weighed in at 45 pounds. When he first visited, the dog already had one cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) surgery on a hind leg and was about to have a second. Osborne changed his dietwhich involved stopping the dry kibble and replacing it with chicken and fresh vegetables.

At this point he is down to 22 pounds, she says. He acts, feels and looks like a puppy instead of sleeping under the kitchen table most of the day and barely moving at all. Hes running around the house, ready to play and having a ball. And he wont need another surgery after all.

Rewriting your dogs future

For pet owners with dogs who are not obese and who arent showing obvious health symptoms, the concern may not seem as pressing. But Ward warns against not taking action when you can.

I see too often a 10-year-old Lab mix and suddenly they cant get into the car because of crippling hip arthritis caused by obesity, he says. But if you can rewind the tape, you dont have the years of cumulative damage. (Obesity) is a slow and insidious and silent killer, and people may know its happening, but they dont take action until theres a crisis. I say that nobody treats obesity until theres a catastrophe. And when its catastrophic, you may not recover.

A guide for dog owners: How to assess your dogs weight

The question remains: How can pet owners determine the ideal weight for their dogs?

The rib testOsborne says it begins with keeping regular track of your dogs body condition. She recommended the rib test.

Stand behind your dog, gently run your hands along either side of the rib cage, she says. You should be able to easily feel, but not see each rib, and your dog should have a waist or a tucked up area in front of the hind legs. If you can pinch more than an inch and/or your dog has lost his waist, its probably time to think about reducing.

The standing testWard opts for another method. I recommend you do the standing test. Look at the dog from the sidelean down and look from the sideand see [if] their abdomen or stomach is sagging, he says. Then I look from the top: From standing I should see an hourglass indentation in front of the hips. You should see the chest extend out and the waist tapers in making an hourglass.

While dogs vary widely in body shape and volume of hair and fur, Ward says this test should work for 95% of dogs (he notes that exceptions include English Bulldogs and Pugs).

Food matters most

Many vets agree that weight loss begins and ends at the food bowl for dogs and cats. Based on available literature and experience, Ward breaks down the weight-loss math this way: 60-70% diet and 30-40% exercise.

So, knowing exactly how much to feed your dog becomes key. Like many experts, Ward cautions against using the guidelines on most commercial dry dog food packages to determine how much youre feeding. The parameters, which are based on adult dogs for all life stages, are far too broad to accommodate every dogs needs. For example, Ward says, spaying or neutering a dog reduces their energy requirement by 20-30%. So already, if youre feeding according to guidelines youre overfeeding a pet who is spayed or neutered, he says. I see so many pet owners say Im feeding exactly what they say on the bag, and its like no, thats too much.

Its a good idea to work with your vet to assess your dogs body condition, muscle condition, lifestyle and any concurrent medical conditions and determine how many calories you should be feeding.

You can also consult the tools available online(including on APOPs site)which provide a good estimate of weight ranges and caloric needs by breed and size.

As to food quality, Osborne recommends fresh food including lean protein like chicken, turkey, fish, eggs and tofu, and fiber through fresh vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and spinach.

While some dog owners hesitate around the idea of feeding people food, this kind of real, fresh food is more nutrient-dense, and more bioavailable than dried, processed food. Those planning to prepare fresh food at home for any length of time should be sure to consult their vet to ensure meals are correctly balanced and contain the necessary vitamins and nutrients.Subscribing to a fresh-food plan makes it easier, and safer, to feed nutritionally balanced meals.

While food is the biggest factor, pet owners should also plan to exercise dogs for a minimum of 20 minutes, twice a day. And be careful with snacks. You can use fresh veggies as healthy treats and avoid processed mystery-ingredient treats and things like pig ears, and bully sticks.

If you dont eat it, neither should your dog, Osborne says.

Body image issues in children and teens

Studies show that kids as young as age 3 have body image concerns. Those concerns tend to escalate sharply year on year peaking in adolescence but often cropping up over a lifetime. Jocelyn R. Lebow, Ph.D., L.P., a clinical psychologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, offers her top tips for cultivating a positive body image in your kids. The first tip? The conversation starts a lot earlier than youd expect.

MAYO CLINIC PRESS (MCP): When should parents start talking to their children about positive body image?

DR. LEBOW: Were swimming in a toxic soup of negative messaging about what bodies are supposed to look like. Two- and 3-year-olds already understand differences in body size and may already be picking up on the value judgments our culture places on bigger versus smaller bodies. Its important to be active in talking to children about how all bodies are good bodies but, of course, always in an age-appropriate way based on your childs maturity.

MCP: We think of body image as a conversation to be had mainly with daughters. Is that now outdated?

DR. LEBOW: Unfortunately, this idea that body image is just an issue for female-identifying kids is a pervasive myth that has never really been true. The consequence of this misunderstanding is that whats out there in terms of resources for encouraging a healthy body image mostly focuses on girls. Were having just as negative an impact on our sons too and an even bigger impact on nonbinary, gender fluid and transgender kids. We live in a society where the thin ideal and diet culture are ever-present. We do a disservice to kids of other gender identities by trying to mostly fix this conversation only for kids who identify as girls.

MCP: In talking about body image, should we use body mass index (BMI) metrics in healthy-weight discussions?

DR. LEBOW: Weight is a horrible metric for both health and how your body looks. BMI is a statistic that was never intended to be used to determine who is healthy and who isnt on an individual level. We have BMI ranges that are considered normal that are completely arbitrary, and theyre not linked to health outcomes or what people actually look like.

MCP: How can we show that to our kids?

DR. LEBOW: You can be a good role model around your own body image. After all, its really hard for your message to land when youre saying one thing to your kid and doing another for yourself. If you think your kid is beautiful but youre also convinced youre hideous, kids are going to notice. Even if its just how youre talking about yourself when you look in the mirror. Do some thinking on how you feel about your body, what messages you have absorbed around your own body image. Also think about how you are approaching food, movement and appearance and how you and your partner, if you have one, model that for your children.

MCP: How do we educate our kids on what moderation with food and exercise looks like?

DR. LEBOW: I think the concept of moderation is really tricky. A lot of times this phrase is used to actually mean deprivation or restriction with regards to eating. We know that is a serious risk factor for negative body image, disordered eating, and obesity and weight gain. All kids especially teenagers need to be eating all different types of food, including desserts and snacks. Ideally, kids will listen to internal cues and eat in a way in which they can sustain growth and development, feel full, and also be satisfied. Missing meals or snacks, not eating in situations where everyone else is enjoying something, and having major changes in growth are big red flags for me. Parents should work to counteract messaging about good vs. bad foods, and encourage eating based on internal cues, and based on when food looks delicious.

As for exercise, again, I think flexibility is key. I think its important to remember that all kids are born with different abilities and interests. To push one specific vision of what exercise should be that applies for everyone isnt always the healthiest. Movement and exercise are great and can be really helpful for mood, especially sports and activities that are social outlets. But its important that your kids dont overexercise or push themselves to where it becomes driven and inflexible. Its important to help your kids recognize that taking rest days and allowing your body to heal also is a part of healthy exercise. Most kids who are able-bodied start out with this joy of movement, whether its running a thousand miles an hour around the playground, or putting on dance performances in the kitchen. Ideally, healthy exercise maintains at least a little of that joy.

MCP: As your child moves up through school and body image teasing becomes common, should you warn them this will happen?

DR. LEBOW: I dont think you need to specifically warn your kids about all the teasing that they might experience, but before your child goes to junior high, they should have a foundation in healthy body image and knowing how to recognize and dispute the thin ideal. One way to build that knowledge is to call out body image distortions when you see the thin ideal being promoted in conversation, on TV and especially on social media. Do it in a way thats curious and starts in a dialogue. Put questions in your kids heads like: What are they selling with this post? Do you think theyve used a million filters on this image? Whos sponsoring it? Do you really think this influencer looks like that when shes brushing her teeth in the morning or has the video been heavily styled? The more you call it out, the more you build that foundation. With body image portrayals in the media over the last few years, theres been a step in the right direction with the addition of more plus-size models and growing body diversity of models. Theres still a ton of work to be done in this area, but this can be a good conversation starter around how you can be healthy and beautiful no matter your body type.

MCP: What should parents do if their children are being bullied at school over how they look?

DR. LEBOW: The parents should validate that what is happening is definitely bullying and be clear that its not OK. Problem-solve with your child and work with the school if necessary. Whats different about weight-based teasing and bullying is that sometimes people claim that theyre doing it for your childs own good. They can say they are making comments about their shape because they care about your kid or they want them to be healthy. Blowing up that fallacy is important for parents to do.

MCP: Social media and group chats are a minefield for body image-related teasing and bullying. What can a parent do to mitigate the damage?

DR. LEBOW: People are extremely mean on social media because they say things impulsively that they would never say face to face. Its really difficult to counteract negative body image messaging on social media because its so pervasive and insidious. You cant simply say, This is stupid, you shouldnt be on these apps. Why do you even care what theyre saying. This is our kids reality. These apps are how they socialize. As for not caring what other people say, frankly, I am a middle-aged psychologist and I can promise you I would absolutely care if I was getting these sorts of messages. Instead, it might be helpful to validate what theyre feeling and ask questions about how its impacting them. Set a context and give them a strong sense of whats acceptable and whats not.

MCP: How should parents approach body image through puberty?

DR. LEBOW: Puberty in general is marked by so much discomfort and shame especially for kids in bigger bodies. I tell parents to set themselves up as someone who your child can talk to, so they know youre not going to be judging them for their body and do not have to feel embarrassed to ask you a question about whats happening to their body.

MCP: How can a parent know if their childs preoccupation with body image is turning unhealthy?

DR. LEBOW: Know the red flags. In general, if your childs body image concerns start to impact functioning and its getting in the way of their being able to do things say, they dont want to go to school because they think they look so bad or they dont want to put on a swimsuit when they typically would love swimming. These are the things to look out for. If functioning is impacted, thats when its time to talk to your physician or a mental health provider.

MCP: If a child experiences distress around body image and their gender identification, what can parents do?

DR. LEBOW: Support your kids on their journey. Talk about their reasons for making changes to their appearance or how they describe themselves. Let them explore any identity and appearance that makes them comfortable. Giving them space and body autonomy is extremely important.

MCP: It seems many families have a relative who makes inappropriate, critical comments about kids bodies or appearance. Whats the best way to handle this?

DR. LEBOW: Things are changing and mostly in the right direction, but it definitely feels like every family has someone making these types of comments. Some people are well intentioned, but lack understanding or context. This can sometimes be a product of their age and background. However, other people have bad intentions. Its important for parents to buffer both types of relatives to protect their kids. If possible, address the comments directly with the person and attempt to educate them by being very clear. You might say something like, We try not to comment at home on our kids bodies or what our kids are eating. Would you be able to align with us on that? With some family members, that conversation can be really difficult, though some people are really stuck in their ways. There will be times when the best approach is talking to your kid and saying, This is completely unacceptable, but I dont know that we are going to be able to change our relatives behavior. How can I help support you? In some cases, it might be appropriate to limit or even eliminate time with this relative. As parents, if were putting our kids in these situations, its our job to be their advocate.

MCP: Can parents be guilty of this too?

DR. LEBOW: I think we all need to question our own internalizing rules on appearance if what makes our children feel most comfortable makes us feel uncomfortable. Every family has rules in terms of what theyre OK with and not OK with, as far as types of clothing, slogans on clothing, whether an outfit is too revealing and other factors. But before you impose rules on your child, ask yourself as a parent: Are these rules for how I want my child to dress rooted in my own body image values? Have I bought into certain gender roles and ideals that I should look at? The answers to these questions can help you step back and also may help support your kids confidence around body image.

MCP: Whats your top tip for parents who want to get the body positivity aspect with their child right?

DR. LEBOW: I would say model self-care to your kids. Take joy in making yourself and your body feel good. Show your kids what a healthy mind and body looks like. If we are constantly scrutinizing ourselves, or bemoaning our appearance, even the littlest kids will absorb this negative body talk. Instead, let them hear you say things like, I really like how I look today. It may feel weirdly awkward the first few times. But youll get used to it. More important, it will create a really beneficial effect for your kids and their sense of what they look and feel like, in body and mind.

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