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National Institutes of Health studying health benefits of dogs
By Christie Keith
October 12, 2009
No one who has shared a life with pets, or had one love, nuzzle and prod us back from sorrow, grief or depression, is in any doubt that animals have huge health benefits for both children and adults. But knowing and proving something scientifically are two different things.
The National Institutes of Health and researchers at the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition are looking to change that. From the New York Times:
Anecdotes abound on the benefits of companion animals — whether service and therapy animals or family pets — on human health. But in-depth studies have been rare. Now the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, is embarking on an effort to study whether these animals can have a tangible effect on children’s well-being.
In partnership with the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition in England (part of the Mars candy and pet food company), the child health institute is seeking proposals that “focus on the interaction between humans and animals.” In particular, it is looking for studies on how these interactions affect typical development and health, and whether they have therapeutic and public-health benefits. It also invites applications for studies that “address why relationships with pets are more important to some children than to others” and that “explore the quality of child-pet relationships, noting variability of human-animal relationships within a family.”
Read more — including a great story about the effect of a dog on a boy with autism — here.
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Great news! As a charity we’ve been gathering evidence on the health benefits of dog ownership for the last few years (a link to our last report on this: http://dogstrustblog.blogspot......s-are.html)
Good to see more projects seeking to analyse the anecdotal evidence.
Comment by Alex — October 12, 2009 @ 5:22 am
Even reading about animals has some health benefits to me. Dr. Marty Becker and Gina have written lots of animal books and it makes me feel good to read them.
After watching Michael Moore’s new movie, “Capitalism, A Love Story” which put me down in the dumps, as well as the cold, wet weather outside—I read “The Secret Garden” which includes birds, a goat, and people who love animals and flowers.
I escaped into a beautiful fairyland where animals and people were thriving. Alas, it was 1912 when the story was written.
It is in my DNA to love animals, so that is why I got my two black cats—to help me want to live and carrying on.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — October 12, 2009 @ 6:52 am
Sharon Sakson’s recent interview with a discussion of her book about the healing power of pets:
Comment by Heather Minnich — October 12, 2009 @ 4:50 pm