An analysis of more than 36,000 adults found that light activity involving daily chores like cooking, mowing the lawn, and doing dishes keep you healthier than sedentary hours spent on the couch. Repetition of any physical activity, is better than none, no matter what the intensity of activity is.
Everyone in the study was assembled by the researchers into one of four quartiles. These quartiles were ranged from the least active to the most active. The six different categories of activity were (light activity, low-light activity, high-light activity, moderate to vigorous activity, vigorous activity, and sedentary behaviour), with a controlling for age and gender.
The Intensity level of the activity was measured in “counts per minute” (with “counts” referring to movement). So the higher the count per minute, the more intense the activity was. Tasks like washing dishes, cooking, or slow walking would have counted as light activity; hurried walking, vacuuming, or mowing the lawn would fall into the moderate-intensity category; and vigorous activity would include jogging, digging, or carrying a heavy load.
It came out that people in the second-highest quartile for total physical activity were 52 per cent less likely to expire during the research period than people in the lowest quartile.
The actual death rate was about 4.5 to 5.5 times higher in the least active quarter compared with the most active quarter and about 2.5 times higher in the most sedentary quarter compared with the least sedentary quarter.
Researchers also found that participants who performed the most moderate to vigorous physical activity were at a reduced risk of death, however, the number of participants who involved in this level of activity was relatively low, which made exact mortality estimates less reliable, according to the authors.
This research upholds that even little activity can have benefits for a sedentary person in terms of their general health, says Two Large Studies Find Americans Continue to Move Less, Sit More And in observational studies, there may be additional bias in the outcomes because subjects know they are being observed, he says.
This research also helps show the benefit of all types of movement throughout the day, Kraus says. Although higher intensity exercises can improve cardiovascular fitness, less-intense physical activity done on regular basis may prove better at improving glucose control and decreasing the risk of Strength Training Found to minimize Heart attack and Diabetes Risk, Whether or Not You Do Cardio.