Dog may be a friend indeed for girls looking to boost daily workout

‘Girls who acquired a dog increased their light activity by almost an hour a day’

‘Having a dog in the family could help promote healthy movement behaviours’

GETTING a dog can help girls to come by more exercise, but has less benefits for boys, a study suggests.

Girls do 52 minutes more light activity a day after getting a dog, data show, but there is no impact on boys. The study also found that when a dog dies girls do an hour less activity every day.

However, boys did see an increase in “energetic activity” when they got a dog, the study found, going from 20 minutes to 27 minutes.

The scientists class light activity as movements such as slow walking or “pottering about”. Energetic activity is moderate or vigorous actions, such as running.

Girls and boys who got a dog during the study also took part in seven more spontaneous bouts of activity a week, such as playing in the garden, going to the park, walking or playing with the dog.

The researchers say the study indicates that having a dog in the family could help promote healthy movement behaviour.

Lead researcher Emma Adams, from Telethon Kids Institute, Australia, said: “We saw a significant jump in daily physical activity in children whose families acquired a dog over the study period, while those whose families experienced the loss of a dog recorded a steep drop-off in activity.

“The results were particularly noticeable in girls, with girls who acquired a dog increasing their light intensity activity and games by almost an hour a day (52 minutes).

“On the flipside, there was a marked drop in light intensity activity and games in girls who experienced the loss of a dog, with their activity dropping by 62 minutes a day.”

The researchers from Telethon Institute and the University of Western Australia, followed 600 children, aged between two and seven years old, over a three-year period to look at the impact of dog ownership (or loss) on physical activity levels.

The time they spent sedentary, on screens and physically active was measured at two separate times using accelerometers – small devices worn on the hip during waking hours for seven days at a time.

Parents were also asked how active their children were.

“If we excluded dog-walking and playing, there were no changes in the unstructured physical activity, so we could see the changes in physical activity were actually from the addition of those dog-related activities,” Ms

Adams said.

By contrast, children who lost a dog reduced their unstructured physical activity by 10.2 sessions a week for girls, and 7.7 sessions a week for boys.

Ms Adams said: “Regular physical activity from an early age is essential for children’s physical and mental health and development, but few children or adolescents are meeting recommended daily levels.

“Our findings indicate that having a dog in the family could help promote healthy movement behaviours in children and reduce their short- and longterm risk of chronic disease.”