The chubby¹, inert² pet dog has become a familiar household sight in richer countries. And yet there lies a possible boon³ to the out-of-shape among us. A recent study suggests that being told one’s pet is dangerously overweight might provide the impetus⁴ that gets an owner moving.

胖乎乎、慢吞吞的宠物狗已经成为富裕国家常见的家庭景象。但是对我们中间身材走样的人来说，这可能是一种福利。最近的一项研究表明，告诉主人他/她的宠物太胖、存在健康风险，可能会给他/她提供锻炼动力。

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, a survey from 2008 conducted in Australia found that nearly a quarter of all dog owners reported never walking their pets. This population of dog owners, studies show, actually engage in less physical activity each week than people without a dog.

养个宠物狗似乎会增加很多运动量。一般来说的确是这样的。2013年与养狗相关的研究表明，总体来说，养狗的人每周比不养狗的人几乎多走一个小时。即便如此，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实际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 or not. That bond prompted a group of scientists, veterinarians and physicians at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md., and other institutions to consider whether people might be willing to undertake ahealth-and-fitness regimen targeted at their dog, even if they had little enthusiasm for such a program for themselves.

当然，不管遛不遛狗，大部分狗主人都非常喜爱自己的宠物。这种情感联系促使马里兰州贝塞斯达健康科学统一服务大学(Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences)等机构的一群科学家、兽医和医生们开始考虑人们是否愿意采取针对小狗的健康健身生活方式——尽管他们对针对自己的这种项目没什么兴趣。

The researchers recruited 32 dog owners who visited a veterinary clinic in Maryland. Their dogs varied⁵ widely in age, breed and size, but all were overweight or obese⁶ and, by and large, sedentary. So, too, were most of their owners (although the only criterion for their participation⁷ was that their dogs be rotund). Half the volunteers were told by a veterinarian to watch their dog’s nutrition and monitor its health. The rest were told that their dog was overweight and needed more exercise. These owners were given specific exercise prescriptions⁸, which generally advised walking the 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，并且总的来说坐得太多。它们的主人大多也是这样（虽然唯一的参与标准是他们的狗超重）。兽医让其中一半志愿者关注狗的营养，留意它们的健康状况；对另一半志愿者说他们的狗超重，需要更多锻炼——兽医给这些主人提供了具体的锻炼计划，总的来说是建议每天至少遛狗30分钟。

Three months later, the volunteers and their dogs were re-evaluated. Both owners and pets in the dog-walking group had lost weight. But more interesting, those who hadbeen told only that their pets were worryingly heavy also began exercising their pets and themselves. They reported walking far more often than they did before theygot health warnings for their dogs, and both they and 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令人担忧的主人们也开始和宠物们一起运动了。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 Uniformed Services University and a co-author of the study — it was published in September in the journal Anthrozoös — is that “love and concern for a dog can be a powerful motivation for exercise.” Which is not to say, he adds, that people should adopt a dog as a kind of fitness device. Unlike a treadmill⁹, Marley cannot be abandoned in the basement 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》(Anthrozoös)杂志上。美国军队卫生服务大学(Uniformed Services University)的医学博士、家庭医学教授马克·B·斯蒂芬斯上尉(Mark B.Stephens)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锻炼动力。”他补充说，这并不是说，人们应该把养狗作为一种健身手段。你不能在厌倦锻炼时把小狗马利(Marley)像跑步机一样丢到地下室里。不过，从另一方面讲，没有哪个健身器材会在看见你穿上步行鞋后如此高兴。