Monday 21 October 2013

Hoovering – Should it be part of your exercise regime?

Last week news articles reported that doing housework, as a means to clean your home and also keep you physically active, may not be as beneficial to the latter as once thought.

A nationwide study, Sport and Physical Activity Survey (SAPAS) used data collected from over 4000 adults in Northern Ireland, to examine how domestic activities contributed to a person’s total physical activity and whether this was related to their BMI. The researchers found that people, who included housework as part of their regular exercise count, were not burning as many calories or raising their heart rate to a level identified to have a positive impact on one’s health. As a result the researchers pointed out that people could be failing to meet weekly target exercise guidelines, despite thinking they are.  


Those who reported more domestic activity tended to have higher body mass indexes, than those who reported less domestic activity

The Governments guidelines for physical activity in the UK suggests that adults should take at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical exercise each week. This could be 30 minutes 5 times a week. To ensure that everyone includes some activity on a daily basis, recommendations have included gardening, housework and DIY projects. As these activities can be carried out in the comfort of one’s home they are more likely to appeal to the majority of the population, who for whatever reason, may face issues or resistance when say going to the gym.

However, although housework is regarded as “exercise” the research demonstrates that we need to be working harder at it to make it count as a workout, so that we can reap the health benefits associated with regular exercise.  

Professor Marie Murphy, who led the study said: “Housework is physical activity and any physical activity should theoretically increase the amount of calories expended. But we found that housework was inversely related to leanness which suggests that either people are overestimating the amount of moderate intensity physical activity they do through housework, or are eating too much for the amount of activity undertaken”    

Physical activity needs to make you out of breath or sweaty to count as moderate to vigorous. The study should be a reminder that the intensity of activity is important as well as the amount and type of activity. It could therefore be said that hoovering and other domestic work, need not be disregarded as ineffective forms of exercise, rather, when domestic work is carried out, extra vigor should be applied to work up a sweat. Additionally, incorporating other forms of exercise into your routine, such as brisk walking, cycling, dancing could help ensure that you stay active and healthy.


For more information on physical activity and the benefits visit the NHS Choices website. Understand the importance of physical activity and learn ways to promote and encourage others to be more active through the RSPH Level 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement, Level 2 Award in Physical Activity.