Image by Rebecca Schönbrodt-Rühl from Pixabay
A new, large-scale study finds dog owners are about four times more likely than other people to meet today’s physical guidelines. In fact, those with dogs spent close to 300 minutes each week walking their dogs, which is about 200 minutes more of walking per week than people without dogs. Those with dogs also spent slightly more time than others jogging, cycling, or visiting the gym without their dogs.
Researchers also found a small number of people with dogs never walked their pets, and those owners were almost exclusively young, healthy, and female. One research cautions, “A dog is not a tool just to make us more physically active. But if you feel that you have the time, inclination and finances to take on the responsibility of having a dog, they are a great motivator to get out walking when you otherwise would have made excuses not to.”
