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Defeat Diabetes Foundation

Defeat Diabetes
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Simple Therapy Lowers BP, Reduces Stress and Helps to Control Blood Sugars

Posted: Thursday, January 25, 2007

Get a dog and just walk it. 1500 dog owners prove it!

Walking the dog could make us happier and healthier than going to the gym and it provides better results.

According to a new survey, we could actually be better off walking the dog than slogging away on the treadmill.

Research commissioned by Butcher's Dog Food found walking a dog daily lowered blood pressure, slowed heart rates, reduced stress and enabled the walker to recover more quickly after a burst of strenuous activity.

The study of more than 1,500 dog owners and gym goers with an average age of 47 found: The average dog walker trod 676 miles a year - 208 miles more than gym goers. Dog owners walked the equivalent distance as Bangkok to London over their pet's lifetime. Most dog walkers were likely to stick to their routine, whereas just over half of gym goers lost interest after two or three months. More than half of gym members reported suffering high stress, compared with 35 per cent of dog walkers.

Dog walkers and gym goers were put on the stepping machine to measure how quickly they recovered after strenuous exercise.
While dog walkers' heart rate had returned to nearly resting rate after eight minutes exercise, the heart rate of gym members was still 29 beats above resting level.

Having a dog, forces you to just do it. You think I can't be bothered to go out' but the dog is sitting there moaning and whining. When the weather is horrible it's easy to sit there and do nothing, but having a dog makes you go out."

Source: Diabetes In Control