Dog ownership, functional ability, and walking in community-dwelling older adults

Regular walking improves overall health and functional ability of older adults, yet most are sedentary. Dog ownership/pet responsibility may increase walking in older adults. Goals of this study were to identify factors that influence older adult walking and compare physical activity, functional abi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical activity & health 2013-07, Vol.10 (5), p.646-655
Main Authors: Gretebeck, Kimberlee A, Radius, Kaitlyn, Black, David R, Gretebeck, Randall J, Ziemba, Rosemary, Glickman, Lawrence T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Animals
Body Mass Index
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dogs
Exercise
Female
Health Behavior
Health Status
Humans
Male
Mental Health
Mobility Limitation
Older people
Pets
Questionnaires
Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data
Sex Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Walking
Walking - psychology
Walking - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Regular walking improves overall health and functional ability of older adults, yet most are sedentary. Dog ownership/pet responsibility may increase walking in older adults. Goals of this study were to identify factors that influence older adult walking and compare physical activity, functional ability and psychosocial characteristics by dog ownership status. In this cross-sectional study, older adults (65-95 years of age, n = 1091) completed and returned questionnaires via postal mail. Measures included: Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, Physical Functioning Questionnaire and Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire. Dog owner/dog walkers (n = 77) reported significantly (P < .05) more total walking, walking frequency, leisure and total physical activity and higher total functional ability than dog owner/nondog walkers (n = 83) and nondog owners (n = 931). Dog owner/nondog walkers reported lower intention and perceived behavioral control and a less positive attitude than dog owner/dog walkers (P < .05). Dog owner/ dog walkers were significantly different than the nondog walker groups in nearly every study variable. Many dog owners (48.1%) reported walking their dogs regularly and the dog owner/dog walkers participated in nearly 50% more total walking than the 2 nondog walking groups, suggesting that pet obligation may provide a purposeful activity that motivates some older dog owners to walk.
ISSN:1543-3080
1543-5474
DOI:10.1123/jpah.10.5.646