Get a Hound, Lose a Pound (or Two)

Dogs, like small children, were considered chick-magnets for young men trying to strike up acquaintance with a girl.  For seniors, however, dogs can fulfill a different role: companion walker.  The other day I came across an account of how a dog is a better walking companion than a human, at least from a health standpoint.  The New York Times Well blog summarized a study showing this.    

In a 12-week study, more than 50 seniors in an assisted-living home were given a shelter dog to walk 5 days a week, or required to take walks with a friend, or were ‘untreated’ controls.  The dog-walking group showed improvements in fitness (walking speed increased by 28%) compared with the friend-walkers (increase of 4% in speed).  The problem with the human-only pairs was that the co-walkers tended to  drop out rather easily – poor weather was the usual excuse; the dog companions never showed any such reluctance to go for a walk.

As a dog owner myself, I can testify to the species’ demand for  daily walks, even in the coldest weather.  And there is good evidence from other studies that getting a dog increases the likelihood of recreational walking.  The University of Missouri researchers responsible for the study described in the NYT blog are now doing a trial to show that dog-walkers lose weight at a greater rate than non-dog-walkers – about 14 pounds over a 12-month period, in an initial pilot study.