For the best chance of living a long, healthy life, marathon training is not required. But staying busy and active might be.
Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that any activity that contributes to energy expenditure in older adults may help prolong life, reports the Mayo Clinic newsletter, Women's HealthSource. These activities include household chores such as vacuuming, mopping the floor, washing windows, lawn work, caring for children or adults, walking or even volunteering.
Conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.; the University of Wisconsin, Madison; VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; University of California, San Francisco; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., the study tracked 302 adults between the ages of 70 and 84 for six years.
The results? Those who expended the most energy on common household chores and routinely climbed stairs had half the risk of dying, compared with those who were the least active around the house.
Although researchers don�t have all the answers about how daily activities affect longevity, it's heartening to know that when people are "too busy" for exercise, staying busy around the house, at work, or in the community may contribute to a longer, healthier life.
--From the Editors at Netscape
