Human and canine prevalence obesity and feending habits – a one health approach in Portugal

Abstract

besity has been considered a major issue in many countries of the European region since the 1980s, and obesity prevalence in humans continues to rise at alarming rates. Due to high number of pets in households, obesity should also be considered in the context of the One Health approach, since in several studies a positive relationship between owner and pet obesity has been reported due to their shared lifestyle. The aims of this study were to evaluate obesity prevalence among owners and their pets in Portugal, and to identify a possible relationship between them, as well as their feeding habits. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was used and owners of at least one dog were included. High obesity prevalence in both humans (21.8%) and dogs (32.9%) was found. Men over 55 years that usually take breakfast and are unemployed were more prone to be obese. Interestingly, the vast majority of owners stated that they eat healthy and that they self-disciplined to follow a healthy diet. In the case of dogs, a neutered animal that does not have a daily intake based on commercial recommendations was more prone to be obese. All of these obesity risks factors, for both dogs and their owners, have been stated by several authors with similar results in other One Health approaches. However, a negative association between dogs’ and owners’ obesity was verified, what is not commonly reported for other countries. The studied population was mainly from regions with rural characteristics, what may partly explain it. Moreover, the awareness that owners reported about the effects of obesity in humans, may be not the same for pets. Even so, it is curious to observe that, although 97.1% of owners considered themselves as being healthy and conscious about health issue, the prevalence of obesity continues to be high, even in a country with Mediterranean based diet, such as Portugal. These are preliminary results, deriving mainly from an online survey, and as such, care is needed when drawing conclusions.