Brisk walking is a much healthier option and a better way to keep fit than mopping floors, dusting and cleaning windows, particularly for older women between the ages of 60-79.

"Older women need to be doing more physical activity. Housework probably does cut the mustard," said Dr. Shah Ebrahim, an epidemiologist and expert on aging at the University of Bristol, in southwestern England.

But Ebrahim and his colleagues said although housework requires physical activity it does not seem to have any health benefits.

In a survey of more than 2,300 elderly women in Britain, 10 percent said they enjoyed brisk walking, one percent did more than 2.5 hours of gardening a week and more than half reported doing heavy housework.

"When we look at things that we think would go along with being physically active and fit, like pulse rate and obesity levels, they don't show any relationship with housework," Ebrahim, whose research is reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, explained.

Women in the survey who walked vigorously for 2.5 hours a week or did an equal amount of gardening were less likely to be obese and had a lower resting heart rate, which is a sign of physical fitness.

Although housework requires effort, Ebrahim said more research needs to be done on its long-term benefits before it can be included as a health-promoting activity.

事实上，同拖地板、扫地、擦玻璃相比，散步更加有益于妇女，特别是年龄在60岁到79岁之间的老年妇女的身心健康，更能有效地保持体态。

英格兰西南部的布里斯托尔大学的流行病学家沙阿·易卜拉欣博士说："老年妇女需要进行更多的体育锻炼，做家务也许真的可以起到一定作用。"

但是易卜拉欣博士和他的同事也指出，虽然做家务也是体力劳动，但是并没有证据显示这种活动有益身体健康。

在通过对2300多名英国老年妇女进行的调查后，结果显示她们中的10%非常喜欢散步，1%的人每周从事多于2.5小时的园艺劳动，但是有半数以上的人每天从事繁重的家务劳动。

易卜拉欣博士的研究结果发表在《流行病学和公共健康》杂志上，他解释说，"我们通常会将脉率和肥胖程度作为一个人的健康标准，但是家务劳动和改善这两项健康指标的状况没什么关系。"

在这项调查中，每周进行2.5小时的散步或进行同样时间园艺劳动的妇女，心率比较低，也不会过于肥胖，这些都表示她们的健康状况相当的好。

易卜拉欣博士说，虽然做家务也是一种体力劳动，但是在进行更多的研究之前，他们无法肯定它是否真的有益于身体健康。