Dog walkers ‘34pc more likely to reach exercise benchmarks’
March 11th, 2011 - 1:14 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Mar 10 (ANI): A Michigan State University researcher has found that people who owned and walked their dogs were 34 percent more likely to meet federal benchmarks on physical activity.
“Walking is the most accessible form of physical activity available to people,” said epidemiologist Mathew Reeves.
“What we wanted to know was if dog owners who walked their dogs were getting more physical activity or if the dog-walking was simply a substitute for other forms of activity,” he said.
Using data from the Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, Reeves and his team found that not only did owning and walking a dog impact the amount of walking a person does but also that dog walkers were more active overall.
The study showed people who walked their dogs generally walked about an hour longer per week than people who owned dogs but did not walk them.
“Obviously you would expect dog walkers to walk more, but we found people who walked their dog also had higher overall levels of both moderate and vigorous physical activities,” he said.
The study analyzed the amount of leisure-time physical activity a person gets; examples include sports participation, exercise conditioning and recreational activities such as walking, dancing and gardening. Public health benchmarks call for at least 150 minutes of such activity a week.
“There is no magic bullet in getting people to reach those benchmarks. But owning and walking a dog has a measurable impact,” Reeves said.
The study has been published in the current issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. (ANI)
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