Walking a dog helps older people stay more active – even in winter

● Pet owners get more exercise in bad weather than others do on sunny days

0 Pet ownership in later life was found to have health benefits Dog walking could be key to keeping older people more active, a new study has confirmed.

Older dog owners spend less time in the day being sedentary, researchers found.

They discovered that regularly walking a dog boosts levels of physical activity in older people, especially during the winter.

The research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, analysed data from a longterm study which is tracking the health and well-being of thousands of people living in Norfolk.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cambridge found owning or walking a dog was one of the most effective ways to beat the usual decline in later-life activity.

Of the 3,123 people taking part in the study with an average age of 69.5, 18 per cent reported having a dog in their households. Two-thirds of dog owners walked their pets at least once a day.

The researchers found that those who regularly walked a dog were more active and less sedentary on days with the poorest conditions than nondog owners were on the days with the best conditions.

In the worst weather, those who walked their dogs had 20 per cent higher activity levels than non-dog owners and were more active for 30 minutes each day.

The authors said their findings suggest dog walking “may have considerable potential to support the maintenance of physical activity in older adults and could form part of ‘exercise on prescription’ schemes”.

They acknowledge that dog ownership is not possible for some people, but added: “Dog walking opportunities for older adults who do not own a dog could be organised by local community organisations or charities, and dog walking groups may provide wider well-being benefits associated with increased social contact.”

Borrow My Doggy, a nationwide UK network which provides regular group dog walks for people who are not dog owners, might be one such option, they suggested.

Study lead author Dr Yutzu Wu, from the University of Cambridge, said: “We know that physical activity levels decline as we age, but we’re less sure about the most effective things we can do to help people maintain their activity as they get older.

“We found that dog walkers were much more physically active and spent less time sitting overall.”