Regular performance of short-term exercises of no more than 10 minutes can bring health as much benefit as prolonged exercises in the gym. Researchers from Boston University found that even a small foot walk, home cleaning, lawn mowing and even fishing significantly help a person lose weight and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
"Frequent and short-lived bursts of activity in total lead to the fulfillment of the daily norm of physical exercises. If you perform them regularly, the result will not take long to wait," say the scientists.
Experts selected more than 2 thousand people to participate in the study, of which approximately 1.5 thousand were overweight. Each participant was given a special sensor - accelerometer, which allowed scientists to monitor their physical activity throughout the experiment.
The results showed that people who performed regular 10-minute exercises daily, such as cleaning the house, washing dishes, cooking, watering flowers and ironing, had a significantly lower body mass index, weight and cholesterol level than who have been inactive throughout the day. Moreover, in view of the physiological differences, it was women who carried the greatest benefit from the exercises for their health.
According to experts, short bursts of activity are practically not inferior in performance to longer and more laborious exercises in gyms.
"We understood that even the simplest exercises are much better than nothing, but the results of the study far exceeded our expectations: it turned out that even performing everyday tasks with the right approach can be as effective as long training sessions on simulators," the report says. research.
