Relationships between dog ownership and physical activity in postmenopausal women

• Published in: Preventive medicine 2015-01, Vol.70, p.33-38
• Main Authors: Garcia, David O, Wertheim, Betsy C, Manson, JoAnn E, Chlebowski, Rowan T, Volpe, Stella L, Howard, Barbara V, Stefanick, Marcia L, Thomson, Cynthia A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Animals; Clinical Trials as Topic; Confidence Intervals; Dog walking; Dogs; Female; Guideline Adherence - statistics & numerical data; Health promotion; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Internal Medicine; Likelihood Functions; Logistic Models; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Odds Ratio; Older adults; Ownership; Pets; Physical activity; Postmenopause; Sedentary Behavior; Sedentary lifestyle; Self Report; United States; Walking - standards; Walking - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0091-7435; 1096-0260; 1096-0260
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.10.030

Abstract Background Positive associations between dog ownership and physical activity in older adults have been previously reported. Purpose The objective of this study was to examine cross-sectional associations between dog ownership and physical activity measures in a well-characterized, diverse sample of postmenopausal women. Methods Analyses included 36,984 dog owners (mean age: 61.5 years), and 115,645 non-dog owners (mean age: 63.9 years) enrolled in a clinical trial or the observational study of the Women's Health Initiative between 1993 and 1998. Logistic regression models were used to test for associations between dog ownership and physical activity, adjusted for potential confounders. Results Owning a dog was associated with a higher likelihood of walking ≥ 150 min/wk (Odds Ratio, 1.14; 95% Confidence Interval, 1.10–1.17) and a lower likelihood of being sedentary ≥ 8 h/day (Odds Ratio, 0.86; 95% Confidence Interval, 0.83–0.89) as compared to not owning a dog. However, dog owners were less likely to meet ≥ 7.5 MET-h/wk of total physical activity as compared to non-dog owners (Odds Ratio, 1.03; 95% Confidence Interval, 1.00–1.07). Conclusions Dog ownership is associated with increased physical activity in older women, particularly among women living alone. Health promotion efforts aimed at older adults should highlight the benefits of regular dog walking for both dog owners and non-dog owners.