Pets provide numerous health benefits
Pet ownership is at an all-time high, according to the American Pet Products Association. Approximately 71.4 million households in the United States or 62% of all households have at least one pet according to a 2009-2010 survey by the APPA. And little wonder. Pets are good for you, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not only do pets offer companionship, but they also help your heart in various ways. They allow you to be more active and social and can improve mental health problems such as depression. Some studies show people are naturally healthier with pets and go to the doctor less frequently than those who do not own pets.
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Healthy Heart
Pets are good for your heart. Just owning a pet reduces your blood pressure and stress levels. Owning a pet can reduce your cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well, making you less susceptible to heart disease. One study published in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that men who owned dogs and suffered from cardiovascular disease were less likely to die from a heart attack in one year as opposed to their non-dog owning counterparts.
According to the National Institute of Health Technology Assessment Workshop: Health Benefits of Pets, owning a pet provides psychological stability and thus protects their owners from heart disease. Pets also provide an incentive to move around and be more active, thus giving the owner more chance to exercise.
Help with Depression
Pets help ward off feelings of depression and loneliness. The companionship pets provide can help people with depression, especially older people who are alone or who suffer from loss. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people who interact with pets in nursing homes tend to show more alertness and signs of well-being. Pets can also help children form relationships and can give positive attention to a child who might be lonely.
Fewer Doctor Visits
One interesting statistic is that pet owners, especially elderly pet owners, have fewer doctors' visits than their non-pet-owning counterparts. According to the Journal of The American Geriatric Society, men and women with an average age of 73 years old who owned pets had a higher ADL (Activities of Daily Living) score. They were less likely to visit the doctor for unnecessary and non-serious reasons, thus lowering the overall cost of their health care.
Pets and Allergies
Although pets can trigger allergies due to the protein in their saliva (dander is an less common allergy), pets have been shown in at least one study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that having a pet in the home when a child is an infant to seven years old can greatly decrease the chance of becoming allergic to pets and to dust and mold by as much as 50%.
People with allergies are often advised to not own pets, but sometimes working with an allergist can greatly improve your chances for owning a pet. Choosing pets that you aren't allergic to such as birds, reptiles and other pocket pets may still help provide some of the benefits associated with pet ownership.
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