Introduction

• Good nutrition is vital for the health of animals and for treating many disorders. The World Small Animal Association (WSAVA) Global Nutrition Committee (GNC) has launched an initiative to make nutritional assessment the fifth vital assessment; the other four assessments being temperature, pulse, respiration and assessment of pain. To aid in this nutritional assessment a nutritional assessment checklist is now available.

WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee guidelines and toolkit

What is a nutritional assessment?

Nutritional assessment parts: screening and extended

Body Condition Score (BCS) and Muscle Mass Score

Nutritional recommendation

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Hutchinson D, Sutherland-Smith J. Watson A L et al (2012) Assessment of methods of evaluating sarcopenia in old dogs. Am J Vet Res 73 (11), 1794-800 PubMed.
• Freeman L, Becvarova I, Cave N et al (2011) WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines. Compend Contin Educ Vet 33 (8), E1-9 PubMed.
• World Small Animal Veterinary Association Nutritional Assessment Guidelines Task Force (2011) 2011 nutritional assessment guidelines. J S Afr Vet Assoc 82 (4), 254-263 PubMed.
• WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines Task Force Members, Freeman L, Becvarova I et al (2011) WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines. J Small Anim Pract 52 (7), 385-396 PubMed.
• Laflamme D (1997) Development and Validation of a Body Condition Score System for Dogs. Canine Pract 22 (4), 10-15 Europe PMC.

Other sources of information

• World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA.org)