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Working out with your dog will help you both in the battle of the bulge!
By Christina | June 16, 2009
One of the major reasons given that people don’t exercise regularly even though they know it is necessary for good health and longevity is that they ‘hate to exercise.’ If exercise can have meaning separate from the basic fact that it is the healthy thing to do, there is more likely to be long term success in staying with the workout routine. A new CNN study was just released showing that humans aren’t the only ones suffering the battle of the bulge. Animals are facing an obesity crisis too.
According to Dr. Robert Kushner, Obesity Expert and Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “Dogs adopt the eating and activity pattern of their owners.” In other words, overweight dog owners probably have overweight dogs.
A great way to get into the habit of exercising is to focus on the benefits of exercising with your pet. Dogs are ideal fitness partners. They are loyal, dependable, and want to spend quality time with you. Dogs don’t dread exercise because they focus so much on the pleasure of exercise that they don’t even realize they are exercising. They enjoy taking long walks and playing fetch because it is beautiful outside and they get to spend time with the person they love most in the world: you.
A 2006 study in the Journal of Obesity found that overweight dog owners who exercised with their pets lost more weight than overweight people without dogs. Take daily walks with your dog, actively play with your dog, and bond with your dog while exercising. Your dog will be leaner. You will lose weight. Most importantly, you won’t even realize that you are exercising.
Topics: Fitness Tips |
