Recent data indicate worrying trends in the rising rates of obesity in people and their pets. This is a challenge that falls within the area of The World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s One Health committee. The One Health initiative proposes that veterinarians, physicians and other healthcare providers work together with scientists and social scientists to tackle shared human and animal disease problems in the common environment in which we live.
Source: One Health.
Solutions to the global problem of obesity must lie in a One Health approach and in developing healthier lifestyles for the human and animal members of the family. Addressing obesity in pets and their owners may be considered a significant public health role for the small animal practitioner.