For people who love keeping pets—especially dogs at home—there is good news: dogs can play a helpful role in improving and maintaining the health of older adults.
According to a report published on the health information website Boldsky, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that elderly individuals should engage in as much physical activity as possible after retirement. People who enjoy keeping pet dogs at home generally maintain better health compared to those who do not.
The new study revealed that individuals aged 65 years or older who keep dogs at home perform an additional 22 minutes of physical activity daily. As a result, they remain more active, energetic, and healthier than their peers who do not keep dogs.
The report also states that taking care of pet dogs naturally keeps people physically active, almost like unintentional exercise. For this research, 43 participants from three cities in the United Kingdom were selected for each group—one group consisted of people who owned dogs, while the other included those who did not.
People who owned dogs walked around 10,030 steps per day, whereas those without dogs walked about 7,270 steps daily, creating a difference of 2,760 steps between the two groups.
Dr. Vilia Dal, who supervised the study, said that elderly individuals who walk their dogs daily easily meet the physical activity levels recommended by the World Health Organization. According to WHO guidelines, older adults should remain physically active for at least 150 minutes per week.
Lead researcher Nancy G stated that the trend of keeping dogs among older adults helps improve their health. Dogs unconsciously encourage their owners to move and stay active more frequently each day.