Dog ownership / daily dog walking
Swedish nationwide cohort (n=3.4M): dog ownership associated with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
Why
Mubanga et al. linked the Swedish national dog and patient registers, following 3.4 million adults for up to 12 years. Dog owners, especially single-person households, had lower risk of death and cardiovascular death than non-owners. Mechanisms likely include daily activity (dog walking), social contact, and reduced loneliness. Observational, not an intervention trial, but the effect size is large and the cohort exhaustive.
How to do it
How
If you're already considering it: a daily 30-60 minute walk routine is the active ingredient. If you can't own one, regular dog-sitting or volunteer dog-walking shows similar activity benefits.
Ideal for
People who can commit to 10-15 years of daily care and exercise; not a recommended longevity intervention if you don't actually want a dog.
Evidence
Mubanga 2017 Sci Rep (Swedish national registers, n=3,432,153, up to 12-y follow-up): dog ownership in single-person households was associated with 33% lower all-cause mortality (HR 0.67) and 36% lower CVD mortality (HR 0.64). Smaller but still meaningful effects in multi-person households. Observational, but the cohort is exhaustive and the dose-response coherent.