Animals living with or near people fatter

[The Straight Story]

Animals living with or near people fatter

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest obesity may be much more complicated than the conventional wisdom of too much food and too little exercise.

Obesity researcher David B. Allison of the University of Alabama at Birmingham says he discovered data on small primates -- marmosets -- showed pronounced weight gain over time.

Allison tracked down previous studies of mammals, living with or around humans for at least a decade, and found 12 groups of animal data sets -- involving 20,000 animals. He divided the data into male and female populations, he ended up with 24 data sets.

The data ranged from laboratory research animals such as monkeys, chimpanzees and rodents, to feral rats caught in the alleys of Baltimore to veterinary hospitals records on dogs and cats. All 24 data sets had overall weight gain over time and 23 of the 24 had an increase in the percentage of obese individuals in the group.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/11/27/Animals-living-with-or-near-people-fatter/UPI-49331290836031/

[Edweird]

1. Like this guy?

[drm604]

2. This is surprising?

They have access to our garbage. An abundance of unhealthy high calorie foods leads to obesity.

[SoCalDem]

3. "Pets" are usually captive and are fed regularly without having to expend energy

Animals in the wild use energy to get food and then to hide/run from predators.

When humans feed them, they take in more calories than they can work off..

Animals "near" us, eat our cast off chem-laden , starchy stuff..

[bemildred]

5. Indeed.

With the qualifier that many of us are "pets" too.

[brewens]

4. Fatty, my cat is a good example. I adopted him. He had been

abandoned and was mooching at my girlfriends cafe. My girlfriend had told everyone not to feed him. When I was shopping for what I needed to bring him home with me, she slipped up and told me what she'd fed him.
The truth came out. All three of the women there had been feeding him. He was getting triple rations of sausage gravy and clam chowder! Hence the name.
He's lost a little weight since I've had him and I leave a feeder full of adult Science Diet for him all the time. Not the weight loss formula either.

[surrealAmerican]

6. Strange headline ...

... considering that they are NOT comparing them to animals who don't live around people.

[provis99]

7. well, animals in the wild may be skinner,

but they also live very short lives and die violent deaths. I'd rather be a spoiled fatty if I were a cat.