Healthy Living

Studies About Dogs & Walking

The health benefits from dog ownership have long been understood (lowering blood pressure, increasing mental attitude and sharpness, lowering the risk of heart disease), but this is the first time that the benefits from dog walking have been proven.

I just want to say thanks to all who have studied the effects of walking a dog on a person's overall health.

The result: some heart-healthy news you can use, sealed with a big wet kiss!

The Details Behind The Dog Walking Diet

Researchers said the participants began the program by walking 10 minutes per day, three times each week. Eventually, the participants walked up to 20 minutes per day, five times each week. During rainy days, the participants walked an inside route.  Source

The first first group walked for 50 weeks, and the second group walked for only 26 weeks. Johnson found that the first group averaged a weight loss of 14 pounds, a better result than most of the nationally known weight-loss plans report.  Source

Even though we didn't see a significant amount of weight loss in the group that walked for a shorter period of time, by the end of the study, all the participants were walking for longer periods of time and walking for daily errands instead of using some other type of transportation.  Source

This goes hand-in-hand with a study the University of Missouri-Columbia did last year:

Some participants in our Walking for Healthy Hearts program have lost as much as 30 pounds since we began 6 months ago.  Source

And in yet another dog-walking study, it was determined:

If all dog owners would just walk their pet for at least 150 minutes per week the percentage of the population doing sufficient physical activity would increase from 47% to 71%. Such an increase would be much greater than most of the broad national campaigns designed to promote physical activity.  Source

A Bit Of Humor...

Using a pet to help an individual receive more physical activity is not a particularly novel idea, but using a "loaner dog", for those who do not have their own pets, is a new twist.  Source

Walking vs Running

By the way, when I asked my oh-so-fit chiropractor why he chooses walking, rather than running as exercise, he said (paraphrased):

...Because you get the same healthy return from running no matter how much of it you do -- 3 miles or 15 miles. Whereas with walking, there's no plateau, the more you walk the more the healthy effects impact your body... so it's more motivating to keep increasing the amount you walk and the speed with which you walk.

Which, I guess, makes it seem less like exercise and more like a personal challenge -- in addition to the more immediate reward.

So... there's no excuse anymore... let's get out there and walk our dogs!
 

More About The Dog Walking Diet

• Dog Owners Get Twice As Much Exercise
• Lose 14 Pounds A Year Walking Your Dog
• Dogs Make Good Diet Buddies
• Work Out The Easy Way: Walk A Dog
• Dieting With Your Dog