If you are an avid reader of health and fitness stories, you might have heard about the possibility of your keeping a good health if you own a pet. It has been shown through many studies that a pet does help in getting over some health and psychological problems. However, in what sounds to be counter to these popular assumptions, a new Finnish study has found that people owning a pet enjoy lesser health than their pet-free peers.

It is said that the studies that supported the effects of pets on the health of owners lacked the insight of looking at the effects of pet ownership on the health of the general population. This new study that presents counter suggestions to this belief looks into this matter. The research is conducted by Leena K. Koivusilta, Ph.D., and Ansa Ojanlatva, Ph.D., of the University of Turku, Finland, and they got the detailed health and pet information from more than 21,000 Finnish adults, which were aged between 20 to 54 years. The findings appear in the December 2006 issue of the online journal PloS ONE, and clearly is a really debatable one.

Well, we do can’t rate this research in any way–there are so many things which sound controversial in view to the earlier studies conducted by similar studies. However, if you are a learned scholar and understand what research actually means, then, this is a good one–it is good to have some debatable points to investigate more vigorously in them. It is believed that we can go deeper in truth when we find two contrasting points supported by ample proofs. This is what we get from this study. However, it is clear that we will need to wait and watch how the things progress–more research and study will be needed as i see it.