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Consumers are taking a second look at pet food options -- and many are choosing healthy diets that prevent obesity and promote wellness.

As natural, organic and macrobiotic diets move from passing trends to engrained ways of eating and living, pet owners are becoming increasingly aware of their animals' nutrition, too, taking extra strides to ensure that they are eating well and right.

Americans are projected to spend more than $18 billion on pet food in 2010, according to the American Pet Products Association, out of the $47.7 billion they will spend in total on their pets.

And the majority of conscientious owners who contribute to this trend aren't likely to grab at the first bag of kibble they see on the shelves.

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, says her observation of a "pet food aisle [that] was 120 feet long, dog food on one side, cat food on the other," in upstate New York prompted her to turn her attention to animal nutrition in her recent book, "Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat."

Co-authored with her partner Malden Nesheim, emeritus professor of nutrition at Cornell University, the book came out in May, and has garnered significant public interest.

"People care about the food they eat. They love their pets. They care about what their pets eat. And I do too," Nestle told Zootoo Pet News in an e-mail.

The major takeaway from the book is to not overfeed pets, Nestle says, noting that one clear fact emerged from their research: overweight pets do not live as long.

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