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Animal obesity The fat cat cometh 动物肥胖 肥猫报到 It is not just human beings that are getting fatter. Animals are, too 不只人类正在变胖，动物亦然 IN THEIR attempts to explain the global epidemic of obesity, researchers have often takento fingering culprits beyond people s direct control. It is now believed that increased levels ofstress, climate change and even artificial light at night may contribute to expandingwaistlines. However, if such factors affect humans, they ought, in principle, to havesimilarly nefarious effects on other creatures. This should hold especially true for speciesthat are physiologically similar to people and live in proximity to them. Pet owners havelong fretted that this may, indeed, be happening. 在试图解释全球流行的肥胖时，研究人员往往指陈人们无法直接控制的元凶。人们现在认为，压力水平上升、气候变化、甚至连夜晚的人工照明都有助于扩大腰围。但是，如果这些因素影响人类，那么按理说它们对其它生物应该有同样的恶果。这种影响对那些在生理上与人类相似且靠近人群生活的物种应该尤其成真。宠物的主人们对此早就苦恼不已，的确这种影响有可能发生。 Of course, anecdotal evidence carries little weight, so a group of researchers led by YannKlimentidis, of the University of Alabama, decided to check whether animal obesity rates doin fact mirror the worrying trend among people. They published their findings this week inthe Proceedings of the Royal Society. | 
