Sutherland Katja A, Coe Jason B, O'Sullivan Terri L
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Vet Rec. 2023 Feb;192(3):e1979. doi: 10.1002/vetr.1979. Epub 2022 Sep 8.
Owner behaviour change in relation to management is critical for successful pet weight loss. The stages of change (SOC) can be used to conceptualise the process of intentional behaviour change. Clients may be more likely to make successful changes when practitioners use communication techniques appropriate for a client's current stage. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess pet owners' SOC in relation to managing the weight of their overweight or obese pet.
An online questionnaire targeting dog and cat owners was distributed via snowball sampling. A total of 532 questionnaires were included in the analysis. Of these, 153 participants (28.8%) self-identified their pet's body condition score (BCS) as greater than 5 (on a nine-point scale). An adapted University of Rhode Island Change Assessment scale was completed by 119 of these participants (77.8%) to assess their readiness to change related to managing their overweight or obese pet.
Most participants were scored in the precontemplation (52.1%) and contemplation (42%) stages, where readiness to change is low. Owner assessments likely resulted in underestimation of pets' BCS.
The results offer preliminary insight into the SOC of owners who identify their pets as overweight or obese. Developing tools to assess and understand owners' readiness to change may be useful in informing veterinary professionals' communication approaches when engaging in weight management conversations.
宠物主人在管理方面的行为改变对于宠物成功减重至关重要。行为改变阶段（SOC）可用于将有意行为改变的过程概念化。当从业者使用适合客户当前阶段的沟通技巧时，客户更有可能成功做出改变。这项横断面研究的目的是评估宠物主人在管理超重或肥胖宠物体重方面的行为改变阶段。
通过滚雪球抽样法分发了一份针对狗和猫主人的在线问卷。共有532份问卷纳入分析。其中，153名参与者（28.8%）将其宠物的身体状况评分（BCS）自我认定为大于5（满分9分）。其中119名参与者（77.8%）完成了一份改编后的罗德岛大学改变评估量表，以评估他们在管理超重或肥胖宠物方面的改变意愿。
大多数参与者处于未考虑阶段（52.1%）和考虑阶段（42%），改变意愿较低。主人的评估可能导致对宠物BCS的低估。
研究结果为将宠物认定为超重或肥胖的主人的行为改变阶段提供了初步见解。开发评估和理解主人改变意愿的工具，可能有助于为兽医专业人员在进行体重管理对话时的沟通方式提供参考。
