Royal Canin has launched the Weight Management Academy to help support the management of cat and dog obesity across the UK and Ireland.

The online academy offers a range of materials to help veterinary surgeons, nurses and receptionists further their knowledge of obesity as a disease, support the running of weight clinics and ultimately help reduce the number of overweight cats and dogs.

The academy includes Weight Management Online, an interactive course which is designed to improve the management of obesity in practice. The course offers eight hours of CPD and additional support from Royal Canin's dedicated Weight Management Team via an online forum.

The course modules are: Obesity is a disease; Body Condition Scoring; Feeding for weight loss diets; Communicating the positives of weight loss; Running a weight loss clinic; and Success is a team effort.

Each module contains additional downloadable reading material and/or learning tools.

Courses run from 11^th September to 1^st October 2017 and 13^th November to 3^rd December, with three weeks given to complete the six modules. 

Louise Brennan, a Weight Management Specialist at Royal Canin, said: "The prevalence of pet obesity is increasing in the UK, with at least 59% of all dogs and 39% of all cats overweight or obese¹. We have recognised the need to provide further education to help veterinary staff understand the seriousness of the disease and how to communicate this to owners."

Veterinary surgeons and RVNs that complete Weight Management Online within a three week time frame will be invited to complete the second stage, allowing them to become a Royal Canin Weight Management Counsellor.

For more information, contact your Royal Canin Veterinary Business Manager.

Reference

1. Courcier EA, Thomson RM, Mellor DJ, Yam PS (2010). An epidemiological study of environmental factors associated with canine obesity. Journal of small animal practice, 51 (7). pp. 362-367

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