Gardening is just as good for you as going to the gym
Interesting results from a long-term study conducted in the US and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine have found that just a little bit of physical activity goes a long way when it comes to reducing your mortality rate, or risk of early death.
The study surveyed more than 88,000 American adults aged between 40 and 85 years old and each participant was asked to record their minutes of phyfical activity per week as part of a National Health Interview Survey. The researchers followed these people for 12 years and noted how many of these people died from cancer, heart disease, and how many were still happy, healthy and alive.
As it turns out, the research discovered the physical activity such as dancing, gardening, and going for a walk can all reduce your mortality risk, and all you need is 10 minutes a week.
The research found that those who did 10 to 59 minutes of light physical activity each week had a 19 per cent lower overall risk of mortality. Doing more than the 59 minutes each week didn’t really make a huge amount of difference to reducing the mortality rate either. In fact, thos who exercised for 60 to 149 minutes had a lowered risk of 22 per cent, and those who spent 300 to 599 minutes exercising each week only reduced their mortality risk by 26 per cent.
However, if you’re into vigorous exercise such as high intensity work outs, then this will be good news. Those who participated in vigorous activity for 10 to 59 minutes a week reduced mortality risk by 26 per cent, and those who vigorously worked out for 150 minutes or more per week had a 34 per cent reduction in mortality risk.
Getting the recommended 150 minutes of light to moderate exercise per week brought mortality risk for cardiovascular disease down by 31 percent, but as little as 10 to 59 minutes reduced the risk to 16 percent. Vigorous exercise worked even better, 15 or so minutes reduced cardiovascular risk by 26 percent, and getting 150 minutes got you down to 33 percent reduced risk.
So there you go – as little as 10 minutes per week of physical activity in the garden or going for a walk can make a difference to your health for the better. So don’t be put off by assuming you need to be a gym junkie to reap the rewards. Every minute counts!
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