身體活動量與個體健康息息相關,然提高身體活動量的作法眾多,遛狗即是務實作法之一;本研究之主要目的在探討寵物犬飼主之遛狗行為與其身體活動量之相關情形。研究者以問卷調查為主,受試對象以屏東市及其周邊鄉鎮之寵物犬飼主為範圍;所獲得的有效問卷為193份,其中男性70人、女性123人。所得資料以SPSS 18.0 for Windows進行資料分析,主要以描述性統計、獨立樣本t檢定、單因子變異數分析、皮爾森積差相關、斯皮爾曼等級相關及複迴歸等方法進行假設驗證。研究所得結果為:多數的飼主以遛狗為其主要的身體活動型態、每日遛狗次數在兩次以內、每次遛狗時間則在20分鐘以上;年齡層越高之飼主,其每次遛狗時間顯著高於年齡層較低者。研究者依據研究結果,推論遛狗行為確是寵物犬飼主之主要身體活動來源之一,且此現象在中、高年齡層之飼主上越明顯。根據研究結果,研究者建議,遛狗之行為可有效增加長者的身體活動量;如能提供遛狗有關之活動空間與機會,對正面臨「高齡化社會」的台灣而言,應有健康促進之效益。
Physical activity and individuals’ health are closely related. Although there are many ways of increasing the amount of physical activity, dog walking is one of the most pragmatic approaches. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between companion dog owners’ dog walking and the amount of physical activity. A questionnaire was conducted of companion dog owners from Pingtung and the surrounding townships. The total number of valid questionnaires received was 193. Of the respondents, 70 were male and 123 were female. The data received was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 for windows and was tested using methods including descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s product-moment correlation, Spearman’s rank correlation, and multiple regression analysis for the verification of hypotheses. Results showed that dog walking is the main form of physical activity for dog owners. They walk their dogs less than two times per day and more than 20 minutes each time. The time that older owners spend walking their dogs is significantly longer than younger owners. Based on the results, it can be inferred that dog walking is indeed one of the main forms of physical activity of companion dog owners, and this is more evident in the middle and older age groups. According to the results, the researcher proposed relevant suggestions to provide a reference for health promotion organizations and future researchers.