Walking the dog beats loneliness and depression, research reveals

New research has revealed that the daily chore of walking the dog can ward off depression and loneliness.

A study by the University of Portsmouth found that the UK's 6.2 million dogs helped motivate their 15 million owners by encouraging them to exercise through a daily walk, even when they didn't feel like it.

The dog walkers surveyed reported that the exercise gave them a better overall sense of well-being as they often met like-minded people, leaving them feeling happier.

Participants in the psychological study also found that even if they were feeling low, they always felt better once they were outside.

Whilst older dog walkers found that the exercise helped them stay physically fitter and maintain social contacts, it also encouraged children to venture outdoors and spend less time in front of the television, according to the report.

The findings by the university's Department of Environmental Design and Management come as conservation experts launch a new campaign to urge more people to "reconnect" with the environment.

A study by Natural England found that taking a stroll outside can boost fitness levels and prevent obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Being close to nature can also cut stress levels, accelerate recovery from operations and help children with attention disorders, researchers found.

Author of the study, Natural England health adviser, Dr William Bird said: "Increasing evidence suggests that both physical and mental health are improved through contact with nature."

"Yet people are having less contact with nature than at any other time in the past. This has to change."

According to the research, children with attention disorders are shown to improve when they have contact with nature and those recovering from operations need less painkillers if they are looking out onto green fields.

Dr Bird also found that people were more likely to keep up regular exercise regimes like walking, if they took place in natural settings instead of on the gym treadmill.

Now the conservation agency has launched an initiative to create "breathing spaces" and mobilise more than a million people to enjoy their local green areas.

Natural England chief executive Helen Phillips said: "Prevention is better than cure but up to 97 per cent of NHS spend goes on treating people after they have become ill.

"We are working with the NHS to plan ways in which the environment is used as a natural' health service that gets, and keeps, more people healthy."