How Owning a Dog Improves Your Health

It’s not always easy to quantify the many benefits of owning a dog.  After all, how does one measure the joy gained from seeing your pup’s tail wag or receiving a cuddle?  However, earlier this summer NPR did a great story on the benefits of dog ownership that can be a measured, reaffirming our notion (with hard numbers) that indeed, having a dog makes your life better!

In a study done by BMC Public Health, dog owners on average walked 22 minutes more per day compared to people who didn’t own a dog.  Moreover the walking was at a moderate pace that increased heart rate, which is shown to be just as effective as running for managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.  The study was done on males and females 60 years or older and included 24-hour monitoring of physical activity.  Based on the clear findings, it is safe to say that adopting a dog is a meaningful step one can take towards living a more active lifestyle.

Read the full story at NPR, then get out there and take a walk with your dog!

Photo credit: fotografixx/Getty Images