The best way to stay active in old age? Get yourself a dog

A study shows that walking a dog provides a huge boost to levels of physical activity in older people.

In news that will come as no surprise to pet owners, an English study has shown that walking a dog provides a huge boost to levels of physical activity in older people.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cambridge asked the more than 3,000 participating seniors if they owned a dog and walked it, and then gave them accelerometers that constantly measured their physical activity level over a seven-day period.