20 Jan 2023
PDSA and Royal Canin first paired up in 2021 to tackle pet obesity, and now want veterinary professionals to sign up to 2023’s “Big Weigh In” during February and March.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
PDSA and Royal Canin have launched the “Big Weigh In” campaign.
Veterinary professionals are being urged to sign up to a campaign to tackle pet obesity in the UK.
PDSA and Royal Canin, which first partnered in 2021 for the Weigh Up awareness campaign, have launched the “Big Weigh In” for February and March.
According to 2022’s PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report, 82% of dog owners, 78% of cat owners and 87% of rabbit owners believed their pet was the ideal weight, while roughly 1% described their own pet as obese. In reality, and according to studies, up to 65% of dogs are obese or overweight.
In the campaign, owners would get a free weight check at participating practices, with the aim being to get owners to think about pets’ ideal weight and body condition score.
PDSA vet surgeon Lynne James said: “While owners may deem a few extra pounds as harmless and sometimes even cute, we as professionals know the longer-term health risks.”
Dr James added: “We found that only 69% of pet owners agreed overweight pets are more likely to suffer from serious diseases and 65% agreed that overweight pets are less likely to live as long as other pets, indicating a significant amount of owners are unaware of the health risks associated with pet obesity.
“We also found that owners whose pets were not registered with a vet were much less likely to agree with both of these statements (46% and 43% respectively).
“Our Weigh Up campaign’s ‘eat well, play more and live longer’ message resonated well with pet owners throughout the pandemic, with many logging on to access our free resources.”
The campaign is supported by Alex German, professor of small animal medicine at the University of Liverpool, who said: “The best thing we can do for owners is to help them learn how to recognise and maintain a healthy weight for their pets, which is why I’m delighted to be a part of the PDSA Big Weigh In.
“I would urge all fellow veterinary professionals to sign up, so throughout February and March, we can work together to ensure our clients know how to identify if their pet has gained an unhealthy amount of weight and how to tackle this.”
During the weight check, pets’ weight and body condition score would be recorded on a Big Weigh In appointment card, provided by Royal Canin, to help educate owners about their pet’s weight and encourage regular monitoring.
Full details and a list of participating practices can be found on the Royal Canin website.
