Pets can help keep the doctor away

I couldn’t help but put this is the news section today, it’s an article from USA TODAY and I thought it was brilliant and although I thought that the pets we keep give us joy it is now a proven fact that they not only give love, but give us health as well!

Read the article from USA TODAY below

How do pets help us? Let us count the ways — and keep counting, researchers say.

The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) will explore the ways animals benefit people of all ages during the International Society for Anthrozoology and Human-Animal Interaction Conference in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 20-25.

“Research in this field is providing new evidence on the positive impact pets have in our lives,” said Rebecca Johnson, director of ReCHAI. “This conference will provide a unique opportunity to connect international experts working in human-animal interaction research with those already working in the health and veterinary medicine fields. A wonderful array of presentations will show how beneficial animals can be in the lives of children, families and older adults.”

Pets have been shown to help lower blood pressure, encourage exercise, and improve  psychological health. Johnson said: “Pets provide unconditional love and acceptance and may be part of answers to societal problems, such as inactivity and obesity.”

In 2008, ReCHAI sponsored the “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound and Stay Fit for Seniors.” In the preliminary program, a group of older adults were matched with shelter dogs, while another group of older adults were partnered with a human walk buddy. For 12 weeks, participants were encouraged to walk on an outdoor trail for one hour, five times a week. At the end of the program, researchers measured how much the older adults’ activity levels improved.

“The older people who walked their dogs improved their walking capabilities by 28 percent,” Johnson said. “They had more confidence walking on the trail, and they increased their speed. The older people who walked with humans only had a 4 percent increase in their walking capabilities. The human walking buddies tended to discourage each other and used excuses such as the weather being too hot.”

Earlier this year, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) cohosted two workshops to discuss the benefits of human-animal interaction in childhood. NICHD  wants to build upon existing research and spurring more studies involving children and adolescents.

“The few studies that have been conducted suggest that pet ownership may have multiple health and emotional benefits for both children and adults,” said James Griffin, a scientist at NICHD.  “But there has been relatively little rigorous research documenting these benefits and examining how and why they occur.  By providing support for this conference and additional research studies, we hope to generate some answers.”

Let 100% People know how much you love your dog, or a funny story that keeps you smiling.