- NEW DELHI — Just three minutes a day of moderate activity may be enough to
boost better heart health in older adults, according to a study.
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- Previous studies have shown that as people age, many do
not engage in physical activity, increasing their chances of experiencing a
cardiovascular event.
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- In the new study, researchers from the UK and Australia
noted that doing household chores or shopping for groceries -- referred to as
incidental activities -- may also be enough to boost health. Incidental
physical activity (IPA) encompasses activities of daily living outside the
leisure-time domain and includes preparing meals, keeping the house clean,
mowing the lawn, or gardening.
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- “Any daily IPA amount of vigorous or moderate-intensity
was associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a dose-response
manner,” said the researchers from the University of Sydney.
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- “Our findings highlight the potential cardiovascular
health value of incidental physical activity, especially for people who
struggle to do structured exercise,” they added.
Read: How This Asymptomatic Heart Condition Raises Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death
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- In the study published in the journal Circulation, the
team analysed data on 24,139 people who wore wrist monitors that tracked their
activity levels and who self-identified as non-exercisers.
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- These were compared with those whose wrist monitors
showed they engaged in regular moderate activity with those who were more or
less active.
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- The results showed that people who engaged in regular
moderate incidental activity had a lower risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event
or dying from one.
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- More specifically, the team found that people who were
moderately active for at least three minutes regularly reduced their chances of
having a heart attack, stroke, or other type of cardiovascular event.
