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Who's a good boy? Effects of dog and owner body weight on veterinarian perceptions and treatment recommendations.

ABSTRACT: Background: Weight bias against persons with obesity impairs health care delivery and utilization and contributes to poorer health outcomes. Despite rising rates of pet obesity (including among dogs), the potential for weight bias in veterinary settings has not been examined.

Subjects/methods: In two online, 2?×?2 experimental studies, the effects of dog and owner body weight on perceptions and treatment recommendations were investigated in 205 practicing veterinarians (Study 1) and 103 veterinary students (Study 2). In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to view one of four vignettes of a dog and owners with varying weight statuses (lean vs. obesity). Dependent measures included emotion/liking ratings toward the dog and owners; perceived causes of the dog's weight; and treatment recommendations and compliance expectations. Other clinical practices, such as terms to describe excess weight in dogs, were also assessed.

Results: Veterinarians and students both reported feeling more blame, frustration, and disgust toward dogs with obesity and their owners than toward lean dogs and their owners (p values?
Conclusions: Findings from this investigation, with replication, have implications for training and practice guidelines in veterinary medicine.

SUBMITTER: Pearl RL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7686094 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Who's a good boy? Effects of dog and owner body weight on veterinarian perceptions and treatment recommendations.

Pearl Rebecca L RL Wadden Thomas A TA Bach Caroline C Leonard Sharon M SM Michel Kathryn E KE

International journal of obesity (2005) 20200610 12

<h4>Background</h4>Weight bias against persons with obesity impairs health care delivery and utilization and contributes to poorer health outcomes. Despite rising rates of pet obesity (including among dogs), the potential for weight bias in veterinary settings has not been examined.<h4>Subjects/methods</h4>In two online, 2 × 2 experimental studies, the effects of dog and owner body weight on perceptions and treatment recommendations were investigated in 205 practicing veterinarians (Study 1) and ...[more]

PMID: 32523035

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Dataset Information

Who's a good boy? Effects of dog and owner body weight on veterinarian perceptions and treatment recommendations.

Publications

Who's a good boy? Effects of dog and owner body weight on veterinarian perceptions and treatment recommendations.

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