Dogs can help the over 65s keep fit

Owning a dog increases the likelihood of staying active in older people, a study has found.

The study found that among people aged 65 and over, those who owned dogs walked more.

Dog owners walked over 20 minutes more per day than non-dog owners - and this difference could help dog owners maintain good health.

According to the study, conducted by researchers at The University of Lincoln and Glasgow Caledonian University, owning a dog indicates a large, potentially health improving average effect of 22 minutes additional time spent walking.

Dog owners also had significantly fewer sitting events.

Physical activity is known to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, multiple cancers and depression, and the study adds to other research showing that owning a dog can help support health as people age.

'We all know that as we get older we tend to slow down a little,' says Dr Daniel Mills, a Professor of Veterinary behavioral medicine at the University of Lincoln and the project leaders.

'By staying active we can improve our health and other aspects of our quality of life.

'Factors driving higher levels of physical activity in adults are not well defined.

'We were interested in assessing whether dog ownership has the potential to improve the health of older adults though increased activity.'

To conduct the study, the researchers measured the physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) of 43 pairs of dog owners and non dog owners over the age of 65.