News Archive:
Dogs Exercise Kids
A 4 year old boy - Brendan has a new love
in his life that could also save his life.
Speed is a staffordshire bull terrier puppy
and he's already giving Brendan the run-around.
"He certainly has a better midday sleep than he used to," says mum, Amanda, 35.
The young dog is also keeping Brendan away from less energetic pursuits.
"Before we got the dog, he used to want to watch TV," she says. "I can't think of the last time he asked me if it's time to watch."
Amanda says she never realised how much boy and dog would play together at the family home in St Lucia, Brisbane.
"Running, playing and rolling and spending a lot of time outside," she says.
It's this physical activity that has health experts convinced owning a dog can help combat the growing problem of childhood obesity.
Almost one in four Australian children is overweight or obese and it's costing the nation's health system millions of dollars to deal with.
Physical inactivity alone around Australia is estimated to cost the health system about $1.5 billion a year.
Researchers at Deakin University found one of the best ways to break that inactivity is by families owning a dog.
"Younger children in a family who own a dog are 50 per cent less likely to be overweight or obese compared with those who don't own a dog," says Associate Professor Jo Salmon, of Deakin's School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.
The research, presented at a conference in the US, is backed by Queensland Health, which says about 6.6 per cent of its budget is spent on dealing with conditions attributed to physical inactivity.
It also accounts for about 31 deaths a year and contributes to type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular troubles, some cancers such as bowel cancer and psychological problems, including depression.
"If children had about two hours of activity across most days, we would save $1.5 billion in healthcare costs," says Dr Amanda Lee, Queensland Health's manager of nutrition and physical activity. Walking a dog is high on the list of recommended activities, says the proud dog owner and occasional dog walker.
Overweight and obesity levels are lower in Queensland compared with other states, but a survey in 2006 found it was still a problem that affects 19.5 per cent of boys and 22.7 per cent of girls in the Sunshine State.
The survey also revealed many children said they had little time for regular exercise although almost a quarter spent too much time in front of the television or computer screen.
"The human body is designed to move, hunt and gather and eat healthy food," Lee says.
"In Queensland, we know that only about 50 per cent of people are achieving the recommended amount of daily activity."
About 40 per cent of Australian households have a dog but half of all owners don't exercise their pet enough. The RSPCA's animal trainer Ros Taber say that's usually because their dogs are not trained to deal with distractions such as traffic, people and other dogs and animals.
"So it becomes unpleasant and awkward for people to walk their dog," she says.
Taber says all owners need to train their dog on how to go on walks.
"Dogs don't automatically know how to walk on a lead," she says.
"You need to put some effort into training them how to walk otherwise you end up being dragged down the street."
The RSPCA and other bodies offer courses for a fee on how to best care for and exercise dogs. RSPCA also has tips on pet travel.
