How does dog acquisition improve the health of older people?

As a good news for pet lovers, a recent study concluded that the acquisition of pet dogs helps the elderly to meet the levels of physical activity recommended by who after the retirement age.

The study indicated that the owners of dogs over 65 years of age exercise a daily light sport of 22 minutes more than others who do not raise dogs, and this from the premise that dogs push their owners to walk abroad, the person thus exercises the same walking sport and keeps his physical activity desired without feeling.

During the study, the results of which were conveyed by the "Boy Sky" health site, the researchers analyzed the daily physical activity of 43 people who acquired dogs, 43 others who do not raise dogs in three British cities, and count the number of steps they take through a tracking device.

The researchers found that the dog owners Walk 10 thousand and 30 steps per day, compared to 7,000 and 270 steps for those who do not dog dogs, so that the difference is an additional 2760 for dog acquisitions.

For his part, researcher Dr. Philippa Dal, the study supervisor, said that the extra time spent by the elderly in walking with their dogs had it is in itself sufficient to meet the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is at least 150 minutes from moderate to strong physical activity.

"Our findings suggest that the acquisition of dogs may play an important role in encouraging older people to walk more," said Nancy G, a researcher at the Wiltham Pet Center, a British-based research organization.

Researchers have advised UK healthcare institutions to study the idea of encouraging older persons to acquire dogs to improve their physical and psychological health.