Pet dogs are not only aesthetics. They have several health benefits as well. They can help older people to achieve their daily physical activity goals, as recommended by World Health Organisation, a study suggested. Philippa Dall, the lead author of the study suggested that dog owners aged 65 and above, spent an average addition 22 minutes extra walking, taking 2,760 extra steps everyday when compared to people who don’t have a dog. These deductions were made after monitoring the physical activity and sedentary behaviour in 43 dog owners and 43 controls from three regions in the U.K.
The participants were wore an activity monitor continuously during three, one-week data collection periods between April 2013 and November 2014. The time spent walking moderately, time spent standing, total time spent sitting, as well as the number of times people sat down and how long they sat down for, was well estimated.
Nancy Gee, a co-author of the study said, "Our results indicate that dog ownership may play an important role in encouraging older adults to walk more."
"This encouragement would improve their prospects for a better quality of life, improved or maintained cognition, and perhaps, even overall longevity", she added. The study has been published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.
(With ANI Inputs)
