Americans’ growing interest in managing and preventing health problems in their pets will drive them to spend $28.9 billion on pet health products and services by 2011—a yearly increase of 7.1 percent—according to The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based market research firm.

Consumers will spend more than $10 billion on pet health products at the retail level, according to “Pet Health: Products & Services.” Concerns about pets’ long-term health will fuel sales of preventive care products such as dietary supplements while concerns about age- and weight-related conditions will stimulate sales of anti-inflammatory agents, weight-loss agents and more.

Dietary supplements will achieve the most rapid gains, although the inclusion of vitamins, minerals and various extracts in premium pet foods may limit growth.

Veterinary practices, which hold a significant share of the market, will continue to lose ground to online pharmacies due to the cost savings these entities provide.

According to the survey, people will increase spending on services such as veterinary care, laboratory testing and pet insurance to help their pets longer, healthier lives. The use of human medical technologies, such as dialysis, organ transplant and magnetic resonance imaging, will contribute to an increase in spending on veterinary services.

For more information on the survey, which sells for $4,500, contact Corinne Gangloff at (440) 684-9600, e-mail pr@freedoniagroup.com or visit www.freedoniagroup.com . [May 2008 PET AGE]