The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and the World Pet Obesity Association want veterinary professionals to use the term “clinical obesity,” arguing that traditional vocabulary and diagnostic standards hinder clinical recommendations. The groups also say using the terminology will help ensure that obese veterinary patients receive the care they need.
“The terms used to describe obesity in animals have the power to inspire change and promote health or fuel bias and stigma, causing patients to suffer,” said Dr. Ernie Ward, founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, in an online article. “The veterinary profession needs a better, scientifically valid vocabulary for more precise, empathetic and effective communication about pet obesity.”
His group and the international association propose that “clinical obesity” be used to describe patients with “excess adiposity who present with clinical signs or a concurrent obesity-associated disease diagnosis.” The distinction will help differentiate between apparently healthy pets that have a high body condition score and those that are compromised and require medical treatment for an obesity-related condition.
Advocates say that using scientific language will help medical professionals and the public recognize the condition as a disease that causes clinical signs and has negative health consequences. And, because GLP1 medications will likely be approved for companion animal use in the next decade, Dr. Ward argues that evidence-based definitions and diagnoses will be necessary for prescriptions.
“It’s unscientific to ‘diagnose’ a 2-year-old subclinical Labrador retriever with a disease based solely on a subjective assessment of its morphology compared to a chart drawing,” Dr. Ward wrote. “While this type of subjective screening has value, does it meet the standard for medical diagnosis?”
Dr. Ward also is a Today’s Veterinary Business columnist.