Today I give you some rather disconcerting news , but it can help us understand something about the obesity epidemic that affects the whole world, even the Japanese.

And that is that it is not only humans who are gaining weight, but also animals.

If the obesity rate in the human population has doubled since 1980 , if despite all the diets, initiatives, government campaigns, sugar taxes, etc., we continue to gain weight, well, maybe it’s really not just a matter of poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.

Animals are also gaining weight . Not as fast as humans, but there are studies showing that even wild animals living in industrialized countries are fatter than they used to be.

OBESITY EPIDEMIC: ALSO CONCERNS ANIMALS, ACCORDING TO THESE STUDIES

While it is normal to think that pets are gaining weight, because in the end they live and eat according to what their owners give them, it already seems strange to think that horses are 19% fatter since the 2000s than in previous decades, as this study reveals . .
Worse still, another study that analyzed 24 animal populations totaling 20,000 specimens reveals that even primates and rodents are fatter than in the past.

In zoos, for example, animals are overweight or obese despite having eaten the same things for decades, and doing the same kind of movement.
Between males and females, chimpanzees in zoos gained 35% on average compared to their predecessors. It also affects wild species and even mice.

TWO HYPOTHESES THAT DO NOT ONLY CONCERN MAN

So if obesity also affects animals and not just domestic or captive ones, what is happening?
Experts put forward two hypotheses.

• The first is that we are surrounded by endocrine disruptors, which are substances that in various ways are negatively affecting our hormones.
  They would also be found in the air, in various types of emissions, in the soil, in the water. And of course at home.
• The second is that obesity is an “infectious” problem. For example, from adenovirus 36, which according to a study is linked to an increase in obesity.