Obesity in pets and children may have a common denominator. A new theory suggests that obesity in pets and children is due to "treats" and excessive meal amounts that the pet's and child's parent provides to get affection from the pet or child. This behavior results in parental co-dependence. Classic addiction withdrawal/abstinence techniques and other behavioral addition methods have shown favorable results in children. Children and parents progress through withdrawal from specific "problem foods," general snacking, and eating excessive portions at meals. This approach may be adapted for pets and pet-parents as well. The authors suggest that pet obesity is more "pure" than child obesity, as pet-parents control the factors that contribute to obesity and the treatment points. Pet obesity treatment models may therefore be an ideal situation to test the treatment and prevention of child obesity, with the focus being primarily on changing parental behaviors. View article