Health Insurance Daily

A Pooch A Day Keeps The Pounds Away

Exercise is tough, particularly if you want to keep at it regularly. Even something as simple and effective as a daily walk often gets derailed by bad weather, work, or—let's face it—plain old laziness.

But walking a dog can knock off as much as 14 pounds in a year, two studies have found. And once in the exercise habit, these dog walkers have gone on to join gyms, modify their diets, and make other changes to help them lead healthier lives.

"We're desperately looking for treatments to combat our obesity epidemic. For exercise, one of the most important things I know about is 'buddying up,' " says Robert Kushner, medical director of the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "We have gym buddies, make dates to walk with our wives, and that keeps us motivated." Basically, you have a sense of responsibility to meet the other person, not to skip out, he says.

So a few years ago he started wondering about dogs as exercise companions and started a trial to see if hounds could reduce pounds. "When you buddy up with your dog, you have even more responsibility than you have with a person," Kushner says. "The dog depends on you."

To read this article in its entirety click on, Fitness.

posted by Mike @ 11:35 AM