The chubby, inert pet dog has become a familiar householdsight in richer countries. And yet there lies a possible boon to theout-of-shape among us. A recent study suggests that being toldone’s pet is dangerously overweight might provide the impetusthat gets an owner moving.
胖乎乎、慢吞吞的宠物狗已经成为富裕国家容易见到的家庭景象。但对大家中间身材走样的人来讲，这可能是一种福利。近期的一项研究表明，告诉主人他/她的宠物太胖、存在健康风险，或许会给他/她提供训练动力。
It might seem that having a pet dog would result in considerable physical activity, and that’s true,broadly speaking. A 2013 review of studies related to dog ownership concluded that as a group,dog owners spend almost an hour more per week walking than people without dogs. Even so, asurvey from 2008 conducted in Australia found that nearly a quarter of all dog owners reportednever walking their pets. This population of dog owners, studies show, actually engage in lessphysical activity each week than people without a dog.
养个宠物狗好像会增加不少运动量。通常来讲的确是如此的。
2013年与养狗有关的研究表明，总体来讲，养狗的人每周比不养狗的人几乎多走一个小时。即使这样，2008年澳大利亚的一项调查发现，将近1/4的狗主人说他们几乎从不遛狗。研究表明，这部分养狗的人每周的运动量事实上比不养狗的人还少。
A majority of dog owners, of course, are deeply attached to their pets, whether they walk them ornot. That bond prompted a group of scientists, veterinarians and physicians at the UniformedServices University of Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md., and other institutions to consider whetherpeople might be willing to undertake a health-and-fitness regimen targeted at their dog, even ifthey had little enthusiasm for such a program for themselves.
当然，不管遛不遛狗，大多数狗主人都很喜欢我们的宠物。这种情感联系促进马里兰州贝塞斯达健康科学统一服务大学等机构的一群科学家、兽医和大夫们开始考虑大家是不是想采取针对小狗的健康健身生活方法——尽管他们对针对我们的这种项目没什么兴趣。
The researchers recruited 32 dog owners who visited a veterinary clinic in Maryland. Their dogsvaried widely in age, breed and size, but all were overweight or obese and, by and large, sedentary.So, too, were most of their owners . Half the volunteers were told by a veterinarian to watch their dog’s nutritionand monitor its health. The rest were told that their dog was overweight and needed moreexercise. These owners were given specific exercise prescriptions, which generally advised walkingthe dog for at least 30 minutes every day.
研究者们在马里兰州的一个兽医诊所征募了32名狗主人。他们的狗在年龄、品种和体型上各不相同，但都超重或过度肥胖，并且总的来讲坐得太多。它们的主人大多也是如此。兽医让其中一半志愿者关注狗的营养，注意它们的健康情况;对另一半志愿者说他们的狗超重，需要更多训练——兽医给这类主人提供了具体的训练计划，总的来讲是建议天天至少遛狗30分钟。
Three months later, the volunteers and their dogs were re-evaluated. Both owners and pets in thedog-walking group had lost weight. But more interesting, those who had been told only that theirpets were worryingly heavy also began exercising their pets and themselves. They reportedwalking far more often than they did before they got health warnings for their dogs, and both theyand their pets were thinner.
三个月后，研究者重新评估志愿者和他们的狗。遛狗那组的主人和宠物们都瘦了一些。不过更有意思的是，那些仅被告知宠物胖得让人担心的主大家也开始和宠物们一块运动了。他们说，与被警告狗存在健康隐患前相比，他们走路要频繁得多，他们和宠物都瘦了一些。
The upshot, says Capt. Mark B. Stephens M.D., a professor of family medicine at UniformedServices University and a co-author of the study — it was published in September in the journalAnthrozoös — is that “love and concern for a dog can be a powerful motivation forexercise.” Which is not to say, he adds, that people should adopt a dog as a kind of fitness device.Unlike a treadmill, Marley cannot be abandoned in the ba百度竞价推广ent when you tire of working out.On the other hand, no device will ever be so happy to see you lace up your walking shoes.
这项研究9月份发表在《人与动物》杂志上。美国军队卫生服务大学的医学博士、家庭医学教授马克·B·斯蒂芬斯上尉是这项研究的合著者。他说，重点在于，“对狗的热爱和关心可以成为强大的训练动力。”他补充说，这并非说，大家应该把养狗作为一种健身方法。你不可以在厌倦训练时把小狗马利像跑步机一样丢到地下室里。不过，从其次讲，没什么健身器材会在看见你穿上步行鞋后这样开心。
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