Washington: If your dog is overweight, it may die younger, says a new study on the negative effect of obesity on the lifespan of pet dogs.
Researchers, who observed the statistics of a variety of popular breeds of dogs from across the US, found that the overweight dogs in middle-age have a shorter life expectancy than ideal weight dogs, Xinhua reported.
The study also found that overweight dogs suffered a reduction in life expectancy of up to 10 months compared to ideal weight dogs.
"We saw that overweight dogs tend to have a shorter life expectancy. This was particularly pronounced in five breeds -- Labrador, Shih Tzu, American Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever and Beagle," lead scientist Carina Salt, of the WALTHAM Center for Pet Nutrition in Britain.
The research used data on the body condition of male and female neutered dogs aged between 6.5 and 8.5 years from 10 popular breeds.
