Chores are valid physical activity

In Australia, heart disease is considered to be one of the biggest causes of ill health and death in our community.

Commonly individuals who are at risk of this debilitating condition tend to lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle, exercising isn’t on top of their to-do lists.

Earlier this month a study released results that indicate 15 minutes a day of house work may actually be enough activity to reduce your risk of heart disease and other lifestyle diseases.

Published in medical journal The Lancet, the study tracked 130,000 people in 17 countries over 10 years and found it did not matter if people were going to the gym, walking to work or doing household chores; being physically active in any way for 30 minutes a day had a positive effect.

The researchers calculated that about one in 20 deaths globally could be prevented with this level of physical activity, but prevention rates could be as high as one in 12 if people exercised even more.

According to Prof Dunstan, about 60 per cent of Australian adults failed to meet the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes of physical exercise a week.

We lead busy lives and as a consequence the biggest reason for our lack of exercise is lack of time.

Meeting the 30-minutes-a-day requirement now may be as simple as doing 15 minutes of household chores and having a 15-minute walk; doing the weekly shopping can now be considered activity – just park the furthest away and walk up and down every aisle to get the most out of it!

It is important to note that these activities are not a permanent replacement for traditional exercise, staying fit and looking after your mind, body and spirit is still essential.

However, those of you who are struggling to fit that all in, take heed that you can still reduce your risks of health complications by leading an active life simply by doing your housework.

Dr Alexis Page is an osteopath at The Health Creation Centre in Ocean Grove.