Beat obesity, get a dog

Forget the gym, if you want to improve your fitness, just get a dog.

One human obesity expert this week has said that dogs are great workout partners if you want to beat your bulge. After all, a dog is always there when you want to work out and is always keen.

Dr Robert Kushner is an expert when it comes to human obesity and a professor of medicine. He said:

“They are natural exercise machines on a leash.”

Kushner went on to add that exercise is always easier when you have a workout buddy and a dog is always ready to go, whether it is raining or not.

If you’re thinking your dog is too small, too old or not fit enough, then you can build up your fitness levels together. Alternatively, for a real workout, you could even buy a special dog pram and push it on your works when your dog gets tired. Some dogs will even be happy to be pulled on a bike or sit in your backpack when they’ve done enough walking.

If on the other hand your dog is quite happy to trot along, then you could make the workout a little harder by taking a cross country walk across fields and hills or step on and off the street curbs.

So how fast should you walk? Following the advice of many personal trainers, you should be walking at a speed where you can talk but not so slow that you could sing along with your iPod.

Make sure you stay hydrated and take in enough water. Remember that when you feel hungry, try a glass of water first because we often mistake thirst for hunger.

Obesity is a ‘big’ problem (pun intended) in both American and the UK and is associated with a number of other health problems so if dogs can help us to lose weight, then they really are man’s best friend.

Leanne Thompson