Institute of Infection and Global Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2013 Sep 10;13:822. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-822.
Owning a pet dog could potentially improve child health through encouraging participation in physical activity, through dog walking. However, evidence to support this is limited and conflicting. In particular, little is known about children's participation in dog walking and factors that may be associated with this. The objective of this study was to describe the participation of children in dog walking, including their own and those belonging to somebody else, and investigate factors associated with regular walking with their own pet dog.
Primary school children (n=1021, 9-10 years) from a deprived area of Liverpool were surveyed during a 'fitness fun day' as part of the SportsLinx project. The 'Child Lifestyle and Pets' survey included questions about pet ownership, pet attachment, and dog walking. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate factors associated with walking any dog, or their own dog, several times a day or more, including level of attachment to the dog, dog type, and sociodemographic factors.
Overall, 15.4% of children reported walking with any dog (their own or belonging to a friend or family member) ≥ once daily, 14.1% several times a week, 27.6% ≤ once a week, and 42.8% never. Dog owning children (37.1% of the population) more often reported dog walking 'several times a week or more' (OR=12.30, 95% CI=8.10-18.69, P<0.001) compared to those without a dog, but were less likely to report other walking without a dog. The majority (59.3%) of dog owning children indicated that they usually walked their dog, with 34.6% reporting that they walked their dog ≥ once daily. Attachment score was highly associated with the child reporting walking their dog (lower score=higher attachment; OR=0.93, 95% CI=0.89-0.96, P<0.001). There was no evidence that gender, ethnicity, sibling status or deprivation score was associated with dog walking. Children that reported owning Pit Bulls were more likely to report friends walking with their dog than those owning non-Pit bull types (OR=10.01, 95% CI=1.52-65.76, P=0.02, respectively).
Promotion of supervised walking of suitable pet dogs may be an opportunity for increasing physical activity in 9-10 year old children. The identification of stronger attachment to dogs regularly walked is similar to findings in adult studies.
养宠物狗可以通过鼓励孩子遛狗来促进他们参与体育活动，从而改善孩子的健康状况。然而，目前这方面的证据有限且相互矛盾。特别是，人们对儿童遛狗的参与情况以及可能与之相关的因素知之甚少。本研究的目的是描述儿童遛狗的情况，包括他们自己遛狗和遛别人的狗的情况，并调查与经常遛自己宠物狗相关的因素。
在利物浦一个贫困地区进行的“健身趣味日”活动中，对 1021 名（9-10 岁）小学生进行了“儿童生活方式和宠物”调查。该调查包括关于宠物拥有情况、宠物依恋以及遛狗的问题。使用多变量逻辑回归模型调查了与遛任何狗（自己的或朋友或家人的）、每天遛几次或更多次相关的因素，包括对狗的依恋程度、狗的类型以及社会人口因素。
总体而言，15.4%的儿童报告每天遛一次或多次（自己的或属于朋友或家庭成员的）任何狗，14.1%的儿童每周遛几次，27.6%的儿童每周遛一次或更少，42.8%的儿童从不遛狗。养狗的儿童（占总人口的 37.1%）更经常报告“每周遛几次或更多次”（OR=12.30，95%CI=8.10-18.69，P<0.001），而没有狗的儿童则不太可能报告其他没有狗的遛狗情况。大多数（59.3%）养狗的儿童表示他们通常遛狗，其中 34.6%的儿童表示他们每天遛狗一次或更多次。宠物依恋评分与儿童遛狗的报告高度相关（评分越低表示依恋程度越高；OR=0.93，95%CI=0.89-0.96，P<0.001）。没有证据表明性别、种族、兄弟姐妹状况或贫困评分与遛狗有关。报告拥有比特犬的儿童比报告拥有非比特犬的儿童更有可能报告朋友遛狗（OR=10.01，95%CI=1.52-65.76，P=0.02）。
促进监督 9-10 岁儿童遛适合的宠物狗可能是增加他们体育活动的机会。定期遛狗的儿童与狗的关系更为密切，这与成人研究的发现相似。
