28 Nov 2024
Sally Everitt concedes many owners unlikely to discuss diets with vets unless there is an existing health problem, but she urges colleagues to be “trusted advisors to clients”.
Allister Webb
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Image © New Africa / Adobe Stock
A vet who led a major review of pet diet policies has called on clinicians to help restore client trust by expanding the subject’s current evidence base.
The plea, made in a London Vet Show debate, followed some industry warnings this year of a deepening divide between professionals and pet owners on how animals should be fed.
Earlier this year, a BVA working group on companion animal feeding called for new research into all diet choices to help improve public confidence on the subject.
Its chairperson, Sally Everitt, conceded during the 14 November session that many clients were unlikely to be discussing diets with their vets unless there was an existing health problem.
However, she insisted: “We have the opportunity to become trusted advisors to our clients. But to do that, we need to inform ourselves and contribute to the evidence base.”
Georgia Woods-Lee, clinical lead of the Royal Canin weight management clinic at the University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science, also urged professionals to avoid “judgement” of an individual client’s choices.
She warned delegates they can’t “force” owners to engage on the issue or put themselves in a position of being seen to oppose their clients’ views during consultations.
She said: “Our role is a supportive role. We’re not there to point the finger.”
But despite the range of opinions offered on some current diet approaches, Jo White, co-director of the community interest company Human Behaviour Change for Life, argued the potential remained for common ground to be found.
She said: “There will always be something, even in the most difficult conversations, where you can connect.”
Although much of the current diet debate is focused on non-traditional approaches, such as raw and vegan, the session also heard an acknowledgement that the sheer range of options available adds to the challenge for owners. Asked by the session’s chairperson, BVA junior vice-president Rob Williams, if she felt there was too much choice, Dr Everitt said there “probably” is.
She added: “I think it has become too complicated to understand easily. Even without looking at vegan and raw, you have a huge range of options.”
Concerns were also raised about references to the prescription of diets that are claimed to be “therapeutic”, while Mrs Woods-Lee cautioned that it could be “very difficult” for clinicians when owners’ choice of a diet for their pets, such as vegan, was influenced by their own commitment to that lifestyle.
The discussion took place just weeks after a report by the industry group UK Pet Food indicated half of owners had never sought veterinary advice about their pets’ weight.
The report also warned of an increase in obesity across most species groups over the past decade and Dr Everitt acknowledged the most common diet problem was the overfeeding of animals.
Meanwhile, responding to a question from the floor about how clinicians should maintain “neutrality” around diet choices, Mrs Woods-Lee said there was now a shift away from vets selling food products within their practices.
She added: “You won’t know about all the options out there.”
Dr Everitt also warned of a public perception that vets were overly associated with “big pharma” as she urged delegates to offer “brand-neutral” advice to their clients.
