Poster 7

Research shows the benefits of people walking dogs to lose weight and maintain active lifestyles. The high rate of overweight and obesity in the US creates a need for innovative projects aimed at increasing physical activity. Our previous research showed that adherence to a walking program could be motivated by commitment to walking "loaner" dogs. The aim of this study was to increase physical activity outside of the dog-walking among adults.

In Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound (WAH) adults participated in weekly (Saturday morning) one-hour walks with shelter dogs for exercise. Shelter dogs participating in the walks were selected for amicable personalities and ability to be walked. Participants were led through a brief group warm-up exercise sequence and walked on a walking trail as far as they wished to walk (1/4 mile to 3 miles). Outcome variables included participation rate, physical activity stage of change, weekly exercise history, blood pressure, weight and body mass index.

Sixty-nine adults participated (12 males and 57 females). Ages ranged from 19 to 85 (Mean=43, SD 16.4). The majority (48) were pet owners. The most commonly reported diagnosed health problems were depression (n=10), headache (n=5), anxiety (n=4), and immune disorders (n=4). There were no significant changes in blood pressure, or weight over total number of weeks walked by each participant. There was a significant increase in the participants' Physical Activity Stage of Change (calculated as difference scores from pre to post and compared p=0.0013). The mean score for the group was 4.8 on the pretest and 5.25 on the post-test. This means that participants went from doing vigorous exercise less than 3 times per week or moderate exercise less than 5 times per week to doing 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise 5 or more days per week for the last 1-5 months.