摘要：Dog ownership is associated with higher physical activity levels in adults; whether this association occurs in children is unknown. We used accelerometry to examine physical activity levels in 2065 children aged 9 to 10 years. Children from dog-owning families spent more time in light or moderate to vigorous physical activity and recorded higher levels of activity counts per minute (25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6, 44) and steps per day (357; 95% CI = 14, 701) than did children without dogs. Adults who own dogs are more physically active (taking approximately 25% more steps per day) than are those who do not own dogs. 1 – 8 However, the association between dog ownership and physical activity levels in children remains unknown. We therefore examined whether family dog ownership is associated with objectively measured physical activity in a population-based study of 2065 9- to 10-year-old children from different ethnic groups.
