The importance of nutrition counselling in veterinary practice

Objective: Collection of epidemiological data about the importance of nutrition counselling and current nutritional knowledge of veterinary surgeons. Material and methods: A total of 707 veterinarians were interviewed based on a standardized questionnaire. The survey was divided into three sections and comprised the topics person and working environment, level of education and current knowledge regarding nutrition, as well as the significance of nutrition in daily practice. Results: The majority of respondents (91.3%) worked in a practice with up to four veterinarians, where most of the participants (89.3%) treated up to 50 patients daily. On a scale from 1 to 5, the veterinarians evaluated their knowledge with a mean of 2.59 (+/- 0.798) and the importance of nutrition with a mean of 2.02 (+/- 0.818). Nutrition consulting was provided for at least half of the patients by 37.3% of the participants. The counselling was performed in different ways. The main reasons for a lack of consultancy despite a current indication were time and labor (37.1%) as well as the low willingness of customers to pay (34.6%). The majority of veterinarians were interested in further training concerning nutrition counselling. Conclusion: Nutrition consulting is an important part of daily veterinary practice but there is a demand for further training. Clinical relevance: Although the importance of nutrition is clear, only some of the veterinary surgeons perform consulting on a regular basis. In particular, in case of an existing indication, a nutrition consulting is advisable to ensure maximum success of treatment.