OK, so we try as hard as we can to get some exercise every day. It's always important, but as we get older it's vital to maintain maximum health. The problem is that sometimes it's so hard to force us to get out and get moving. What we really need is a live-in motivator, something that would tolerate no excuses.
Something like…a dog.
That's the conclusion of researchers from Michigan State University who reviewed data from the 2005 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey. That survey pulled together responses from almost 6,000 people to questions about their lifestyle and health habits.
About 41 percent of those surveyed owned a dog and almost two-thirds of these dog owners said they walked their dog at least 10 minutes at a time. (The rest didn't walk their own dogs.)
The researchers found that dog owners were 69 percent more likely to participate in physical activity during their free time than non-dog owners. Overall they were 34 percent more likely to meet the government's recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week.
Unfortunately, I'm not an animal owner myself so I guess I'll have to find some other way to get moving. But those of you who do have dogs now have still another reason to appreciate man's best friend.
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