Get a Dog, Get Some Exercise: Teens with Dogs More Active

If you needed one more reason to get a dog – look to your children. Not only are dogs excellent companions, University of Virginia researchers have discovered that teens with dogs are much more active than their non-pooch-owning counterparts. So when your kids beg for a dog, at least they’re making a healthy decision!

The UVA researchers found that, on average, kids with dogs engaged in an extra 15 minutes of physical activity per week over those that did not own a dog. Must be from all that dog-walking. Or not. Every parent who has been begged for a dog knows that despite promises, they are often the ones who end up walking the dog. The researchers say, “Children and adolescents may not have the primary responsibility of walking the dog but may actively play with the family dog, thus contributing to their overall minutes engaging in physical activity.” Routine care, such as feeding the dog and cleaning up after it also adds to those minutes.

There is no doubt that kids need more exercise; time spent engaging in physical activity drops dramatically after elementary school. Dr. Cheryl B. Anderson of the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine says, “You may walk it, you may not, but the fact that you have this animal in the house makes you get up off the chair more. Every bit of activity is important.”

The added benefit of treating your dog – and yourself – to a daily brisk walk will do your body good.