Daily dog walks work off the pounds

US researchers have a new lead in the fight against fat - walking a dog can strip off more pounds than some of the best known weight loss programs.
A University of Missouri-Columbia study says that having a dog can help people get more exercise and lose weight.
"Our goal was to look for ways to increase the average exercise regimen, and we found being responsible for a pet, such as committing to walk a loaner dog, encouraged people who did not own dogs to walk more often and for longer periods of time.
Our first study group averaged a weight loss of 14 pounds during the one-year program," researcher Rebecca Johnson, an associate professor of nursing and director of the College of Veterinary Medicine's Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction, said in a prepared statement.
That 14 pounds of weight loss over a year is better than results reported by major weight-loss plans, Johnson noted.

Johnson's next study will involve people taking pets to the gym to see if the presence of pets as support companions can increase a person's self-esteem and get them to do other exercises along with walking.