The surprising daily activities that could slash your risk of killer heart disease
EXERCISE is known to boost your health as you age – but you don't have to run marathons or lift weights to feel the benefits.
Simple daily activities you can do without leaving the home or garden could slash heart risk by up to two thirds, according to a new study.
Experts at the University of California in San Diego found simply being up and about and doing chores can protect older women's tickers, compared to being a couch potato all day.
They said even doing the dishes or vacuuming contributes to daily activity.
In the study, spending four hours of each day doing light activity like housework, gardening, cooking and showering slashed heart risk.
People who did this had a lower risk of heart disease or stroke when compared to those who did fewer than two hours of chores.
Dr Steve Nguyen, of the University of California in San Diego, said: “All movement counts towards disease prevention.
“Spending more time in daily life movement, which includes activities we all do while on our feet and out of our chairs, results in a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.”
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The study included 5,400 American women older than 63 and used gadgets to track their daily movement.
The NHS says over-65s should try to do 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week, such as walking, water aerobics or doubles tennis.
But longer periods of easier exercise still had benefits in the California study.
In the women who spent four hours per day doing housework, the risk of dying of heart disease fell by 62 per cent and stroke risk dropped by a third.
More active women were also 43 per cent less likely to develop heart or artery disease at all, the scientists revealed in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Dr Andrea LaCroix added: “Understanding the benefits of daily life movement and adding this to physical activity guidelines may encourage more movement.”