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.
