Report: America’s pets are fat, fat, fat

Well, it looks as though its not just Americans becoming increasingly plump in modern times--our pets are getting fatter as well.

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half of the dogs and cats in the United States are overweight and 20 percent of them are obese--a classification defined by the group as being 30 percent or more above normal weight.

Reports the Wall Street Journal:

The main culprit: owners who routinely overfeed pets, don't exercise them enough and are unaware of the severe, and costly, health problems caused by excess weight. Common woes include diabetes, arthritis, kidney failure, high blood pressure and cancer. Research also suggests that pets fed less over their lifetime can live significantly longer.

Indeed, Steven Budsberg, director of clinical research at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, told the paper that it's the human owners who are to blame for the epidemic: "I never met a German shepherd who could open the refrigerator or food bag and pour himself another bowl."

(Disney-ABC Domestic Television/AP)