3 minutes of moderate activity daily can improve heart health in elderly: Study

Just three minutes a day of moderate activity may be enough to boost better heart health in older adults, according to a study.

Previous studies have shown that as people age, many do not engage in physical activity, increasing their chances of experiencing a cardiovascular event.

In the new study, researchers from the UK and Australia noted that doing household chores or shopping for groceries — referred to as incidental activities — may also be enough to boost health. Incidental physical activity (IPA) encompasses activities of daily living outside the leisure-time domain and includes preparing meals, keeping the house clean, mowing the lawn, or gardening.

“Any daily IPA amount of vigorous or moderate-intensity was associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a dose-response manner,” said the researchers from the University of Sydney.

“Our findings highlight the potential cardiovascular health value of incidental physical activity, especially for people who struggle to do structured exercise,” they added.

In the study published in the journal Circulation, the team analysed data on 24,139 people who wore wrist monitors that tracked their activity levels and who self-identified as non-exercisers.

These were compared with those whose wrist monitors showed they engaged in regular moderate activity with those who were more or less active.

The results showed that people who engaged in regular moderate incidental activity had a lower risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event or dying from one.

More specifically, the team found that people who were moderately active for at least three minutes regularly reduced their chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other type of cardiovascular event.

The key is to try to do several short-duration activities every day, said the researchers.

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