Is Housework Good Exercise?做家务是一种好的锻炼吗?

Housework might seem boring， but a team of researchers from Singapore reported that chores like cleaning floors and washing the windows might help adults to stay healthy into old age.

The team asked some adults from the town of Yishun in Singapore to do tests as well as activities to see how well their bodies worked. There were also questions including how much light and heavy housework they did every week.

It appeared that old people doing heavy housework （about 131 minutes a week） focused better than those who didnt do housework. Also， old people doing heavy housework stood up more quickly and were less likely to fall. At the same time， old people doing about 900 minutes of housework a week had better memories than those who only did about 90 minutes a week.

家务活可能看起来很无聊，但来自新加坡的一个研究团队的报告称，擦地板和擦窗户等家务可能有助于人们到老年以后保持身体健康。

该团队请新加坡宜顺镇的一些成年人做测试和活动，以了解他们身体的运作情况。问卷中还包括他们每周做多少家务。

做繁重家务（每周约131分钟）的老人似乎比不做家务的老人注意力更集中。此外，做繁重家务的老人站起来的速度更快，摔倒的可能性也更小。与此同时，每周做900分钟家务的老人比每周只做90分钟家务的老人记忆力更好。

Dr Shiou-Liang Wee， one of the researchers， said staying healthy should not just be about sports like ball games， running and swimming.

Gill Livingston， a researcher from London， said the study was interesting but had little meaning. No one would tell people who are not so well to do more housework. “I think the advice would be that housework can be good for your heart and brain. However， we cant say that you can always get good protection when you do housework，” she said.

Boys and girls， what do you think？ Is housework good for your health？

研究人員之一的韦修良（音译）博士说，保持健康不应该只靠球类运动、跑步和游泳。

来自伦敦的研究人员吉尔·利文斯顿说，这项研究很有趣，但没有什么意义。没有人会让身体不太好的人多做家务。她说：“我认为应给出的建议是做家务对心脏和大脑都有好处。但不能说做家务就能得到很好的保护。”

孩子们，你们怎么想呢？做家务对你的健康有益吗？

Word Bank

activity n. （复数形式activities）活动

focus v. （过去式focused）集中（注意力、精力等）

memory n. （复数形式memories）记忆力；记性

advice n. 建议；意见

be good for 对……有好处