Want to get fit? It’s time for walkies

FOR those trying to get fit, there is a furry, tail-wagging solution.

Owning a dog makes you four times more likely to get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week – and it’s not just the daily walks that do it.

A study has found dog owners are active generally, more often walking for fun rather than to get somewhere they need to be. Compared to people without dogs, they are more likely to go jogging and running.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool surveyed almost 191 dog owners, and 455 without a dog in a community in Cheshire.

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, they state: ‘Without dogs, it is likely that population physical activity levels would be much lower.’