Doing light daily physical activities reduce disability risk by more than 30 percent, a new study finds.
It is no secret that physical activities promote better health. Unfortunately, some people don't find it in themselves to indulge in vigorous daily activities due to various reasons. Don't lose heart! Even light daily activities like pushing a shopping cart or cleaning the house can have health benefits. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers found that these light physical activities can be very effective in keeping disabilities at bay.
"Our findings provide encouragement for adults who may not be candidates to increase physical activity intensity due to health limitations," said lead author of the study Dorothy Dunlop in a press statement. "Even among those who did almost no moderate activity, the more light activity they did, the less likely they were to develop disability."
The study examined 1,700 adults aged between 45 and 79 years who were free of disabilities but were at a higher risk of developing one because they had knee osteoarthritis or other risk factors for knee osteoarthritis such as obesity.
All the participants were asked to wear an accelerometer during waking hours for about a week to measure the amount of physical activities they indulged in. The device was worn around the hip and also recorded the intensity of each movement.
A follow-up study was conducted two years later and participants were asked about any disabilities they may have developed over the years. As expected, people who indulged in moderate to vigorous physical activities had fewer number of disabilities. However, researchers were surprised to find that people who indulged in light physical activities also developed fewer disabilities than expected.
Researchers noted that indulging in four or more hours of light activities daily reduced disability risks by over 30 percent compared to those who indulged in less than three hours of physical activities daily.
Influencing factors like time spent in moderate or vigorous physical activity and other predictors of disability were taken into consideration during the study.
"We were delighted to see that more time spent during the day, simply moving your body, even at a light intensity, may reduce disability," Dunlop said. "Now people with health problems or physical limitations, who cannot increase the intensity of their activity, have a starting place in the effort to stay independent."
A recent study also found that daily physical activities also delay the aging process in a person. The Centers For Disease And Control Prevention recommends that individuals aged between 18 and 64 years of age should indulge in 150 minutes of brisk walking every week.
The current study was published online in the British Medical Journal and funded by National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
