Daily activities such as DIY or gardening may prolong life by up to 30% in the 60+ age group, a report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed.
As any committed gardener will confirm, seeing the first shoots of life emerge after the winter months can provide a deep sense of satisfaction.
But gardeners now have another reason to feel rather smug – regular gardening or DIY can cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke, and prolong life by as much as 30% among the 60-plus age group, according to a study of almost 4,000 60-year-olds in Stockholm.
The research found that even those who spent their retirement training for marathons were not at less risk than the green-fingered group. Gardening – voted pensioners' favourite pastime in a recent study byAge UK – provided as many health benefits as regular exercise.
The 60-year-olds who were most active on a daily basis had a 27% lower risk of a heart attack or stroke and a 30% reduced risk of death from all causes, irrespective of how much regular formal exercise was taken.
"Our findings are particularly important for older adults, because individuals in this age group tend, compared with other age groups, to spend a relatively greater proportion of their active day performing [routine activities] as they often find it difficult to achieve recommended exercise intensity levels," the scientists wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Over a 12-year period the team, led by Dr Elin Ekblom-Bak at Karolinska University hospital's department of medicine, asked 60-year-olds for information on diet, smoking and alcohol intake in addition to information on whether they did regular activities such as gardening, DIY, car maintenance and blackberry picking. The researchers also carried out lab tests and physical examinations.
At the start of the study, those who had an active daily life were at much less risk of heart attacks – even if they did not exercise – than those with low levels of daily activity. They also had smaller waists, lower levels of potentially harmful blood fats, and lower glucose, insulin and clotting factor levels in men, high levels of which are linked to a raised heart attack and stroke risk.
The benefits of regular activity continued through the course of the study. During the 12.5-year follow-up period, 476 of the participants had their first heart attack and 383 died from various causes. Those who exercised regularly, but were not routinely physically active, were also at less risk of cardiovascular problems, and those who exercised regularly and were active on a daily basis were at the least risk of all.
The study suggests gardening and DIY can be as good as exercise for the over-60s because they increase overall energy expenditure – prolonged sitting drives down metabolic rate to the bare minimum, while standing up and physical activity increase it. The study went on to explain that sitting down can disrupt the skeletal muscle's normal hormone production, with potential negative impacts on other body organs and tissues.
Dr Gavin Sandercock, reader in sport and exercise science at the University of Essex, said: "'This study is excellent news for large swaths of the population who might not want to run, swim or go to the gym because it clearly shows that even moderate, non-exercise activity like gardening benefits the health of older adults."
But he warned that younger people and children still had to be encouraged to do vigorous exercise like fast walking, running, swimming and cycling. "While the amounts reported here are OK for older people, children still need to do an hour of activity every day to be healthy and that needs to be hard enough to make them breathe hard and preferably feel hot."
Dr Tim Chico, senior clinical lecturer and honorary consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield/Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said the more active a person was throughout their lives, the lower their risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
"The message I take from this study is simple," he said. "If you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, be more active. Don't sit down for long periods; get up on your feet and do something you enjoy that involves moving around."
《英国运动医学杂志》上发表的一篇报道显示，像手工制作或园艺这样的日常活动有可能使60岁以上的人的寿命延长30%。
据英国《卫报》报道，任何热衷园艺的人都会同意，漫长的冬天过后，看见新芽萌发的那一刻，他们会感到很满足。
但是现在园丁们又有另外一个值得神气的理由：一项针对斯德哥尔摩市近4000名60岁老人的研究表明，经常从事园艺或手工制作可以降低心脏病发作或中风的风险，还能使60岁以上的人的寿命延长30%。
研究发现，即使是那些退休后跑马拉松的人，患病的风险也没有比从事园艺的人低。慈善机构AgeUK最近的一项研究表明，园艺是退休老人最喜爱的消遣。园艺同定期锻炼一样对人体健康有诸多益处。
无论常期、正式运动量有多大，60岁老人中每天最活力十足的，心脏病发作或中风的风险会降低27%，因各种原因死亡的风险降低30%。
“我们的发现对老年人来说尤其重要，因为和其他年龄段的人相比，他们很难达到专家建议的运动强度水平，因此习惯于花相对更多的时间在日常活动上。”科学家在《英国运动医学杂志》上写道。
瑞典卡罗林斯卡大学医院医学部的艾琳（Elin Ekblom-Bak）博士带领一支队伍，历时12年，询问了一群60岁老人的各种信息，包括饮食、吸烟、酒精摄入以及是否有参加如园艺、手工制作、汽车 维修和黑莓采摘一类的定期活动。研究者还进行了实验室测试，对参与者进行身体检查。
实验初始，那些平时活力十足的人，即使平常不锻炼，心脏病发作的风险也也比平时活动少的人低得多。同时，他们腰围更小，潜在有害的血脂更少，男性葡萄糖、胰岛素和凝血因子水平更低，这些物质水平高的时候会提高人心脏病发作和中风的风险。
在整个研究过程中，定期锻炼的益处一直都有体现。在12年半的随访期内，476名参与者心脏病发作过，383名因为各种原因死亡。那些有定期锻炼，平时却懒于活动的人，出现心血管问题可能性小；那些有定期锻炼，且每天活力十足的人在所有人中患病风险最低。
这项研究表明对于60岁以上的老人来说，园艺、手工制作和锻炼一样有益，因为它们都能增加整体身体能耗。长时间静坐会让身体代谢率降至最低，而站立和体力活动能提高代谢率。研究还深入解释说，静坐会扰乱骨骼肌正常激素生成，对身体其他器官组织有潜在的负面影响。
英国埃塞克斯大学体育和运动科学高级讲师加文（Gavin Sandercock）博士说道：“这项研究对很多可能不愿意跑步、游泳或去体育馆锻炼的人来说是大好消息，因为研究清楚地表明，即使像园艺这样温和、非运动性的活动都有益于老年人的健康。”
但是他也警告说，还是要鼓励年轻人和儿童进行剧烈运动，如快走、跑步、游泳和骑自行车。“尽管报道中提到的运动量适合老年人，儿童要保持健康还是得每天运动一小时，增加运动强度，用力呼吸，最好能够全身发热。”
英国谢菲尔德大学高级临床讲师，谢菲尔德教学医院心脏病科名誉顾问蒂姆（Tim Chico）博士表示，一个人一辈子越是充满活力，患心血管疾病的风险就越低。
“我从这项研究中得到的启示很简单，”他说道，“如果你想要降低患心脏病的风险，就得更有活力一点。不要长时间静坐；起身做些喜欢的事情，到处转一转。”