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Let
your dog exercise you
May 20, 2009
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Need
a weight loss buddy? Call your dog.
Many people need the support of a partner when trying to lose
weight. Face it: It can be tough to muster the motivation
to exercise. Having a workout partner helps.
So why not enlist Sparky?
One small study suggests that working out with your pet can
be a good way to lose weight.
“It’s a natural extension,” said veterinarian
Steven Marks, clinical associate professor in the Department
of Clinical Sciences at the N.C. State College of Veterinary
Medicine. “If you’re overweight and your pet is
overweight, why not address it together?”
A paper published in 2006 in the journal Obesity reported
on the study called PPET – people and pets exercising
together. Pairs of overweight owners and pets were put on
weight loss diets and joint exercise routines.
Researchers found that overweight people and their overweight
dogs could effectively lose weight together.
The authors concluded that in addition to considering family,
friends and coworkers as potential sources of social support
for weight control, people should include pets, too.
People were cited by some study participants as being negative
influences on their weight-control efforts. They claimed that
spouses and coworkers, for example, pushed food or discouraged
their efforts to exercise.
Dogs, in contrast, were motivating forces.
One study participant, for example, said that her dog prompted
her to walk every day: “By 1:00, she started to pester
me and became very aggressive until we walked (even on hot
and rainy days).”
Another motivation: Too many pets aren’t getting enough
exercise and are eating too much.
The ties between obesity and chronic disease are not as strong
in pets as they are in humans, said Marks.
However, obesity does contribute to diabetes and liver disease
in cats, airway collapse in dogs and orthopedic problems such
as osteoarthritis in both cats and dogs, among other diseases
and conditions.
And just like the market for human weight control programs
and pills, pet obesity is big business.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has licensed the first weight-loss
medication for dogs. And pet foods formulated for weight loss
are an increasing proportion of the total pet food market,
estimated by market research companies to total at least $13
billion per year.
This development isn’t surprising to veterinarians and
some researchers.
“To me, as an epidemiologist, the joint obesity epidemic
in dogs, cats, and humans reflects a cultural influence and
a shared environment characterized by lack of exercise, excess
portions, and high calories, rather than any genetic issues,”
said veterinarian Larry Glickman, adjunct professor of epidemiology
in the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine.
Glickman told me by email that he recently conducted a study
in which he asked dog owners to report the number of cups
of dry dog food they fed their animals each day. When the
findings seemed odd, he asked owners to send him the actual
cups they used to dish out the food.
“These ranged from a true measuring cup to a supersize
McDonald’s drink cup,” said Glickman.
Looking for some ideas to get moving with your pet?
A series of short exercise videos produced by the American
Veterinary Medical Association and pet food manufacturer Hills
Pet Nutrition is available online in the “training room”
at www.PetFit.com. The videos feature a fitness trainer demonstrating
a variety of ways that people and their animals can be active
together, such as exercising with a laser pointer in your
hand to get your cat into the act.
When it comes to losing weight, you need all the support you
can get. Don’t forget to enlist your best friends.
Suzanne
Havala Hobbs is a licensed, registered dietitian and clinical
associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and
Management and the Department of Nutrition in the UNC Gillings
School of Global Public Health. Send questions and comments
to suzanne@onthetable.net.
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