Pennington says the food could help address what the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) says is the top health threat to pets: obesity. Pets with obesity face a number of problems, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, joint problems, and other chronic disease, APOP says. According to APOP, about 50 million dogs and 56 million cats in the U.S. are either overweight or obese.