FORGET THE TREADMILL AND ADOPT A DOG!
Having a dog can literally do well to heart
New research shows that dog owners have 34% greater likelihood of receiving medical recommendation for a minimal amount of weekly exercise, thanks to their furry friends.
"The dog can be an excellent motivator of physical activity. People who take the dog out just walking more. They usually walk about an hour more a week, "said Mathew Reeves, a professor of epidemiology at Michigan State University and author of the study.
Reeves, who is also a veterinarian, says the public health problem of obesity affects both the man and his pet, so both benefit from the hike. He suggests that, even failing to exercise to improve their health, perhaps maintaining the health of the animal is the great motivator necessary.
In the study, published in the March issue of the journal American Journal of Physical Activity and Health, the authors reviewed data from a large survey of 2005 - more than 6,000 respondents - about behavioral risk factors.
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Forty-one percent of respondents owned a puppy. Among them, nearly two thirds reported that they took the animal for a walk at least 10 minutes.
In total, the owners of dogs that showed 69% more likely to engage in physical activities during leisure time. They also had 34% more likely to carry out the 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or vigorous, recommended by government health agencies of the United States.
"Only 27% of people who have a dog reaches the recommendations of 150 minutes per week of physical activity - that is, they could probably be walking more often," said Reeves.
The vet recommends that 40% of dog owners who never take their animals to walk that they really should start doing it. "Every dog should have the opportunity to leave home to walk."
Several reasons were cited by the owners not to take their pets for a walk, but the most common excuse was that the dog has already exercised alone or who lived outside the home. Some of them said they had no time or interest to take the dog for a walk, others reported that animals were very ill-behaved. The age of the dog or the owner himself was also a reason cited.
People over age 65 were more likely to reach the minimum government simply taking his "best friend" for a ride. According to the study, middle-aged people were the ones who spent less time walking his dog.The study also showed that the level of education and gender had little impact on time devoted to walking the dog.
According to the survey results, people with lower incomes, particularly those who earned less than $ 20,000 per year were those that spent more time walking the dog (the average was 104 minutes per week).
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The researchers also found that younger dog owners used to perform more exercises. The results also showed that smaller dogs performed shorter walks.
Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest that public health campaigns emphasizing the health benefits of regular walking with the dog.
"If your only form of exercise is taking her dog for a walk, be sure to do this at least five times per week for 30 minutes," advised Jill Rubin, a physiotherapist from Scott and White Healthcare Clinic in Round Rock, Texas.
"If you can not take your dog for a walk with this frequency, some kind of additional exercise will be necessary to achieve the recommendations of health agencies," she added.
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