Walking the dog - the way to curb childhood obesity

According to new research, owning a pet could help children stay slim and healthy.

A study by researchers at Deakin University has found that young children who have a dog were 50% less likely to be overweight or obese than those without a pet dog in the family home.

As health experts express growing concern about Australia's escalating childhood obesity figures and a range of programmes and ideas are considered to curb the epidemic, something as simple as having a pet dog to walk with appears to possibly offer a solution for some families.

Experts say the promotion of daily physical activity in children is a key element in the prevention of overweight or obesity and walking is a low-cost, low-risk activity suitable for people of all ages.

The Deakin team suggest that owning a dog may be an way of encouraging children to walk and may therefore benefit their health, which supports several other studies which have shown that dog owners do more physical activity than non-owners.

The research team say almost 40% of households in Australia own a dog and there is the potential for dog owners to accumulate physical activity through a responsibility or motivation to walk their dog.

The study looked at more than 281 children aged 5-6 years and 864 children aged 10-12 years, from 19 randomly selected primary schools in high and low socio-economic status areas of Melbourne.

The children's height and weight were measured and the children also wore an accelerometer which recorded their physical activity for eight consecutive days - it was found that children who had a dog were less likely to be overweight or obese.

Lead researcher, Professor Jo Salmon, says the findings suggest even incidental play with the dog helped children keep the weight off and says physical activity was the key to maintaining a healthy weight.

Professor Salmon suggests parents who are trying to encourage their children to become more active might use the strategy of getting out and playing with a pet.

The greatest benefit gained was in younger children with 20% of those who had a dog being overweight or obese, compared with 25% of children who did not live with a pet.

For the 10 to 12 year-olds, 30% who did not have a dog had weight problems, compared with 27% of those with a pet.

The study is published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.