Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The obesity problem in the world is growing bigger and today even our companion animals are becoming heavier. In this paper the importance of a balanced diet for the companion animal is emphasised. There are many disadvantages for the animal and for the owner if the animal becomes obese and it is important to stress the facts on what the consequences might be. There are several medical conditions connected to obesity and a short summary of these will be discussed. It is often easier to prevent obesity rather than loosing the overweight and some ideas of how to do this is looked in to.

In many veterinary clinics today, the veterinary nurse is the first and sometimes the only person to see the animal. It is therefore of great importance that the veterinary nurse is educated in how to help these animals and their owners. Some owners may have difficulties realising or coping with the fact that their animal is obese and this paper will suggest a few ideas on how to increase the compliance of the owners.

When dealing with obese animals and their owners, there are several ways this can be managed. This paper will not provide the reader a handbook on how to deal with this problem, but merely some guidelines on how it may be handled. Since every animal and owner is an individual, there can never be just one way to proceed in helping them with a balanced and harmonic life.