Physical Activity of Japanese Older Adults Who Own and Walk Dogs

Background: Dog ownership is emerging as an important correlate of sufficient physical activity and therefore has the potential to positively affect a portion of the population. A growing body of literature indicates that dog-walking contributes to increased physical activity. However, most of the previous studies have been conducted in Australia or the U.S. and have sampled from the general adult population. Purpose: This study examined the association between dog ownership, dog-walking, and physical activity in older Japanese adults. Methods: Participants were community-dwelling residents aged 65-74 years who responded to a population-based cross-sectional survey (N = 1926). Physical activity, dog ownership, dog-walking, and sociodemographic attributes were self-reported (collected in 2010; analyzed in 2011). ANCOVAs and multivariate logistic regressions were used. Results: Overall, 14.0% of older adults were dog owners, with 71% reporting that they walked their dog for an average of 308.5 +/- 300.7 minutes/week. Dog walkers reported more minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (M +/- SE: 241.7 +/- 27.0) and total physical activity (M +/- SE: 698.6 +/- 40.6) than both non-dog walkers (M +/- SE: 110.7 +/- 41.8; M +/- SE: 527.2 +/- 62.9) and non-dog owners (M +/- SE: 164.7 +/- 9.1; M +/- SE: 519.2 +/- 13.7), respectively (p<0.05). Dog walkers also walked more minutes per week (M +/- SE: 508.0 +/- 33.4) than non-dog owners (M +/- SE: 384.5 +/- 11.3; p<0.05). Dog walkers were more likely to be sufficiently active than both non-dog walkers and non-dog owners (p<0.001). Conclusions: Use of dog-walking may be a potentially viable means of intervention for increasing walking and overall physical activity in older Japanese adults. (Am J Prev Med 2012;43(4):429-433) (c) 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine