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Children who own dogs are more physically active, especially young girls.
Christina Cambrova Photography/Getty Images
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Christina Cambrova Photography/Getty Images
Children who own dogs are more physically active, especially young girls.
Christina Cambrova Photography/Getty Images
A new study has found that having a dog as a family member is associated with a significant increase in physical activity in younger children, especially young girls. The discovery is part of a growing body of research investigating how dogs can improve the health of people of all ages, not just children.
In this study, Australian researchers followed 600 children over three years, starting when they were preschoolers. They tracked the children’s physical activity using monitors that measured the speed, length, and intensity of their movements. They also surveyed parents about their children’s activities and whether they had a dog at home.
Half of the children did not own a dog. Approximately 204 children owned a dog all the time, while 58 children owned a dog during the study period. And sadly, 31 children lost their dogs. This led the researchers to conduct a natural experiment to see how dog ownership affected children’s activity levels.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, both the boys and girls in the study engaged in activities such as walking their dog and playing in the garden more often after getting a dog. However, the effect was particularly pronounced for girls.
“What we found is that adding a dog to the household increased the girl’s light intensity and physical activity by 52 minutes, or almost an hour, per day. So that’s pretty significant. That’s true,” says Emma Adams, a doctoral candidate at the Telethon Kids Institute. The University of Western Australia led the research. “It can make a huge difference to their health and well-being.”
Conversely, the girls whose dogs died during the study significantly decreased their daily light physical activity by 62 minutes per day. The survey results are International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
“This new study is exciting because it’s the first time we’ve seen a longitudinal study that follows children over time,” says Katie Potter. She is an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her research focuses on leveraging the human-animal bond to promote physical activity.
Professor Potter points out that while the research is limited, there are other studies that suggest dogs may have a bit more of an impact on girls’ activity levels.
“We don’t know why, but we don’t know if it has something to do with the differences in how girls and boys interact and bond with dogs. So we’d love to learn more about this. “I think so,” Potter said.
Research shows that girls’ physical activity declines significantly as they get older than boys. Potter says if researchers can find a way to use dogs to get girls moving more and keep them moving, it could have a real impact on public health.
There has been far more research linking dog ownership to health benefits for adults (such as increased activity levels and improved health) than for children. However, there is a growing body of research using dogs as a health intervention for children.
One reason for this is that most children and adolescents in the United States don’t get the recommended daily amount of physical activity, says Megan McDonald, a professor of kinesiology at Oregon State University. He studies the physical and emotional benefits of dog ownership for children. .
“As researchers, we’re really looking at interventions and trying to figure out how to get people to start exercising,” McDonald says. And having a dog really helps. “Because dogs serve as a kind of model for us, and they inspire us to go out and walk, exercise, and play with them.”
After all, rain or shine, dogs have to be walked. She says owning a dog in early childhood can help children develop healthy habits around physical activity.
And the potential benefits aren’t just physical. “We know there are many other benefits. [having a dog]” says McDonald.
For example, petting a dog, even if it’s not their own dog, can reduce stress in school-age children and improve executive functions (such as planning, staying on task, and blocking). Research has shown that it improves the cognitive processes involved. Distractions. Other studies have found a link between owning a pet during childhood and a wide range of mental health benefits, including increased self-esteem, improved empathy skills, and reduced feelings of anxiety and loneliness. I am.
“I think the emotional part is also very important,” McDonald says.
Of course, dogs are a big responsibility, and owning a dog is not for everyone. But for dog lovers, welcoming a furry friend into the family can have a variety of benefits. “I think there’s something about the human-animal bond that people don’t fully understand,” Potter says.
This article was edited by Jane Greenhalgh
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