Your Dog Can Help You Get All the Exercise You Need
It turns out that walking your dog is considered a legitimate exercise to help you live longer. Dogs are actually man’s best friend.
New research, published in the journal BMC Public Health , shows that dog owners walk an average of 22 minutes more per day compared to those without a dog. Walking isn’t exactly good for your health, like high-intensity interval training , but it’s still pretty damn good for you. According to Lincoln Professor Daniel Mills , author of the study, the level of physical activity demonstrated by dog owners was more than a leisurely walk. People seem to walk a little faster when pulled by furry friends looking for great places to pee.
Study participants saw their heart beat during each walk and reached speeds of about three miles per hour, which is considered moderate by the CDC . This means that walking the dog every day for an average of 22 minutes at a moderate pace exceeds the recommended physical activity requirement of 150 minutes each week . In fact, walking is almost as beneficial as running , especially when it comes to reducing the risk of high blood pressure or cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, so dogs can really save lives.
Obviously keeping your dog in your backyard and never walking it will negatively impact its health benefits. But if you need motivation to get up and move around, owning a dog might be the best solution if you’re willing to put in the effort to walk it every single day. As if you needed another excuse to get a dog …