Prevalence of canine obesity in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Canine obesity is associated with comorbidities, a shortened lifespan, and a poorer quality of life, but epidemiological studies characterizing canine obesity in Latin America are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of canine obesity in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the possible associated causal factors. Randomly-selected households from different city regions were visited. Dogs in each household were evaluated and owners completed a questionnaire whilst their anthropometric measures were taken. Total of 285 dogs from 221 owners were included, and the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was 40.5%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was greater in female dogs (P = 0.003) and in dogs that were neutered (P = 0.001). There was also a positive association between BCS and frequency of visits to a veterinarian (P = 0.026), feeding frequency (P = 0.033), and higher snack intake (P = 0.011). Further, the BCS of dogs was greater when their owners reported consuming more snacks themselves (P = 0.005) and whose had a presence of elderly people in the household (P = 0.006). In conclusion, the prevalence of obesity found in a Brazilian metropolitan region was similar to that if other countries, and neutering and snack intake were associated with the development of this disease.

Figure 1

Details of the questionnaire completed by participating owners.

Figure 2

Multiple correspondence analysis of relationship between body condition score (BCS), underweight (BCS_1), ideal (BCS_2), overweight (BCS_3) and obese (BCS_4) with significant animal variables in the simple analysis: sex (sex_F = female and sex_M = male), reproductive status (neut_y = neutered and neut_n = non-neutered), daily frequency of feeding (freq._f_1 = 1 time, freq._f_2 = 2 times, freq._f_3 = 3 times and freq._f_4 = ad libitum), frequency of visits to veterinary practice (freq._v_1 = never, freq._v_2 = only if ill, freq._v_3 = frequently) and snacks intake (treat_y = yes, treat_n = no).

Figure 3

Multiple correspondence analysis of relationship between body condition score (BCS), for underweight (BCS_1), ideal (BCS_2), overweight (BCS_3) and obese (BCS_4) dogs, with significant animal variables in the simple analysis: presence of elderly people in the household (eld_y = house with elderly people and eld_n = house without elderly people) and habit of eating snacks (snack_1 = healthy habit and snack_2 = unhealthy habit).