The New York Times, December 14th, 2009
Is it better to walk a human or to walk a dog?
New research from the University of Missouri has found that people
who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more
improvement in fitness than people who walk with a human companion. In
a 12-week study of 54 older adults at an assisted living home, 35
people were assigned to a walking program for five days a week, while
the remaining 19 served as a control group. Among the walkers, 23
selected a friend or spouse to serve as a regular walking partner along
a trail laid out near the home. Another 12 participants took a bus
daily to a local animal shelter where they were assigned a dog to walk.
To the surprise of the researchers, the dog walkers showed a big
improvement in fitness, while the human walkers began making excuses to
skip the workout. Walking speed among the dog walkers increased by 28
percent, compared with just a 4 percent increase among the human
walkers.
“What happened was nothing short of remarkable,” said Rebecca A. Johnson, a nursing professor and director of the Research Center for Human Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“The improvement in walking speed means their confidence in their
walking ability had increased and their balance had increased. To have
a 28 percent improvement in walking speed is mind boggling.”
Ms. Johnson said that because some people are afraid of dogs, the
participants were given the choice of walking with a human or a dog as
the companion. Ms. Johnson said the dog walkers were far more
consistent in sticking with the program than those who were walking
with humans.
“In the human walking group, they were regularly discouraging each
other from walking,” she said. “Missouri is a hot state. We would hear
them saying: ‘It’s hot today. I don’t want to walk, do you?’ “
The response from participants in the dog-walking group — and their dog companions — was very different.
“When the people came to the animal shelter, they bounced off the
bus and said, ‘Where’s my dog?”’ Ms. Johnson said. “And the dogs never
gave any discouragement from walking.”
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