5 Reasons Your Pet Should Be Your Workout Buddy

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We discovered a great article listing 5 reasons why you should make your pet into your ‘workout buddy’. The link is after our introduction.

Although there are perhaps fifty reasons to work out and hit the gym to sweat off some excess around the belly, we tend to counter those with an unbelievably impressive battery of illogical, capricious, or born-out-of-laziness excuses to skip the exercise routine. You know it’s true! While these self-made excuses or rationalization may somehow be effective in falsely convincing ourselves that “things can wait,” these “personal lies” only handicap us at the end of the day.

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity across all countries is alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of US adults are obese, and this percentage doesn’t bode well for us. Not only is obesity pricey medical-wise, but also it brings along life-threatening, serious, but often-preventable conditions such as stroke, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

As with their owners who lack physical activity and eat an improper diet, dogs can suffer from obesity too. This predisposes them to a long list of health issues, impairs quality of life, and reduces their expected life expectancy. Obesity in our pets is apparently an avoidable problem but can incur unnecessary discomfort and suffering among our canine best friends and supposedly superfluous veterinary cost on the part of the owner.

Two key methods toward preventing obesity or achieving a healthy weight loss: 1) Cutting out caloric intake and 2) increasing time for activity and exercise. This works for both the owner (i.e., people) and the pet (i.e., dog). So why not enjoy the fun of brisk walking or jogging together? Any dog is always up for a walk or activity with its owner. A regular exercise together with your four-legged buddy not only will help both of you to burn close to the same amount of energy per pound or maintain a fit body but also will strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

Dog owners are also motivated to be more active when a dog is with them during a run or jog.

Ok, here’s the article: http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/lifestyle/5-reasons-why-your-pet-should-be-your-workout-buddy