A UK study has suggested that children who live in homes with a dog are on the whole more healthy.

Researchers from St. Georges’s, University of London, studied 2,000 children aged 9 and 10 years old and found reduced obesity rates were present in those who came from families who owned a dog.

The 10% of participants who owned a dog took part in more exercise and lived a much less sedentary lifestyle . This was the case for boys and girls.

The researchers conceded that it wasn’t clear whether more active families own dogs or whether dogs make families more active. Christopher Owen, senior lecturer in epidemiology at St George’s said:

“It’s a bit of a chicken and egg question. Long-term studies are needed to answer it, but it may be a bit of both.”