Australia is a nation of pet lovers but it may be loving its animals to death with pet owners passing on rising levels of obesity by overfeeding their cats and dogs, the country's main animal welfare（1） body says.
Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed（2） youth, Australia in reality is battling the bulge（3） and challenging the United States as the world's fattest nation. The problem now extends to household（4） pets.
Obesity rates for Australians have doubled over the past 20 years, with 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women now deemed（5） overweight or obese.
The same trend applies to（6） household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals （RSPCA）, and even one case of an obese pet mouse.
"It's a big problem, and quite reflective of what's happening in the human situation," said Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA's chief vet.
Australia is a nation of 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish.
It has one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership at 64 percent of households, compared to 62 percent in the United States and 44 percent in Britain.
Surveys had found that between 40 and 44 percent of dogs and more than one in three household cats were now overweight, due to poor diet and a lack of exercise.
Fat cats and dogs were more vulnerable（7） to diabetes（8）, arthritis（9）, heart problems and liver disease.
Dogs most at risk were Labradors, Beagles and cross-breeds（10） such as Labradoodles —— a mixture of a Labrador and a Poodle（11） —— with household moggies（12） more at risk than other types of cats.
The RSPCA said de-sexing（13） and lower levels of exercise had an impact on pet obesity, but the key issue was over-eating.
"It's really the calorie intake and food that makes the big difference," Lawrie said, adding that many pet owners could not resist giving（14） their animals food when they asked for it.
澳大利亚最权威的动物福利机构称，喜爱宠物的澳大利亚人总是过量给宠物喂食，导致宠物越来越胖，最后死亡。
澳大利亚展示给世界形象总是狂热爱好运动、体形苗条、皮肤古铜色的年轻人，而事实上澳大利亚人正在和肥胖做斗争，几乎能和美国竞争世界最胖国家的头衔。这个问题现在扩沿到家养宠物身上。
澳大利亚的肥胖率在过去的20年中翻了一番，目前有62%的男性和45%的女性被认为超重或者肥胖。
家养宠物中也出现了同样的趋势。皇家防止虐待动物协会处理了越来越多的猫、狗肥胖事件，甚至还包括一只肥胖的宠物老鼠。
皇家防止虐待动物协会主治兽医马克·罗瑞说：“这是个大问题，非常能反映出人们的状态。”
澳大利亚拥有2千万人口，将近400万条狗、250万只猫、870万只宠物鸟和超过120万条宠物鱼。
澳大利亚的宠物饲养率高达64%，是全世界第一。其次是美国的62%和英国的44%.
调查显示，由于饮食不良和缺乏锻炼，40%到44%的宠物狗和3分之1的宠物猫都超重。
肥胖的猫和狗比较容易患糖尿病、关节炎、心脏病和肝脏疾病。
最容易患病的狗狗是拉布拉多猎犬、毕尔格猎犬和如拉布拉多和狮子狗所生的杂种小狗，宠物猫中最容易患病的是杂种小猫。
皇家防止虐待动物协会说绝育手术和运动量少对宠物肥胖有一定影响，但主要原因还是过量摄取食物。
罗瑞说：“卡路里摄入量和食物使得宠物体重猛增。” 当宠物向主人索要食物的时候，很多主人都无法抗拒它们可怜的目光。
1. welfare：福利事业、机构
2. sun-bronzed：被晒成古铜色的
3. bulge：膨胀
4. household：家庭的
5. deem：认为、相信
6. apply to：适用于
7. vulnerable：易受…攻击的
8. diabetes：糖尿病
9. arthritis：关节炎
10. cross-breed：串种的，杂交的
11. Poodle：狮子狗
12. Moggy：小猫，非纯种小猫
13. de-sexing：绝育
14. resist doing：抗拒做…
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