A few months ago, I wrote about strategies for weight loss in pets. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association confirmed the importance of keeping our pets at a normal body weight. This study, the first of it's kind to be published, studied two groups of Labrador Retrievers over 14 years. The control group was allowed to eat as much as they wanted during 15 minute daily feedings. The lean-fed group was fed 25% less than the first group, though both were fed the same foods.

The most striking finding of this study was that the median life span of the lean-fed group was 1.8 years longer (15%) than that of the control group. In addition, by age 10 only 3 of the lean-fed dogs had died, compared to 7 control dogs. After 12 years, 11 lean fed dogs were alive, with only one control dog surviving. Twenty-five percent of the lean-fed group survived to 13.5 years, while none of the control group dogs lived to that age. Both groups of dogs had about equal numbers of chronic health problems, but these problems showed up on average 2 years later in the lean-fed group than the control group. Dr. Dennis Lawler, one of the authors of the study, summed up the important findings of this study: "What we have learned from this study is that feeding less does not necessarily change what health problems dogs encounter, or what, ultimately, causes their death. What it does change is when this occurs."

This study underlines the importance of avoiding overfeeding our pets. As much as we love them and want to spoil them with treats and extra food, in the long run this may cause much more harm. Instead, we should show them how much we love them by spending time playing with them or taking them on a walk. This special attention will be both beneficial in the short term, and may even prolong their life. If your pet is overweight, the best plan for trimming the excess weight is to cut back on the amount they are fed and increase the amount they exercise. As Richard Kealy, Ph.D, one of the principle investigators of the study stated, "What's exciting about this study is that, for the first time...we proved that eating less resulted in longer life. That's pretty powerful stuff."