Health Benefits for Owning a Dog

There is a growing trend of people who are obese in North America.

I currently live in a town that struggles with several health issues. Huntington, West Virginia was reported to have had the highest percentage of people with obesity a few years ago. The town has also been listed as an area with a high percentage of smokers. Many people don’t have health insurance and the town has also been in a list of high percentage of people with missing teeth and poor dental care.
I love my town and I want Huntington and all of West Virginia to be healthy and happy.

I think that we, Recreational Therapists, could take an initiative in this area.
I had once heard that ATRA was going to create practice guidelines for providing services for people with obesity (like the dementia practice guidelines).

Questions: Was this true? Are they still working on it? I hope so.

I am also a big animal lover. I highly recommend people to get a mutt from the pound because these dogs are often on death row if they aren’t adopted.
But now there is another benefit for owning a dog. People who own dogs are more likely to get exercise opposed to people who don’t have one. Why? It could be that dogs require exercise. The owners are more likely to get their 30-minutes of exercise a day by walking their dog or playing with them.
Check out this book: Walk a Hound – Lose a Pound: