Get your dream body by doing daily chores?

There is something to be said about chasing around your toddlers all day or just staying physically active. It turns out that daily chores like being busy with the kids, taking the stairs, going for a brisk walk or just raking leaves can be just as good as a trip to the gym.

According to a new study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, folks who lead an active lifestyle are getting a lot of health benefits by staying busy. Looking at more than 6,000 adults, researchers at Oregon State University saw improvements in high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a host of other risk factors that can lead to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and stroke in participants who stayed active during the day.

In fact, the study suggests that doing several short stints of exercise can actually help you meet the federal physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes a day. Forty three percent of adults who participated in the study met this threshold. One of the study’s lead authors said he hopes the data encourages people to cut out sedentary habits and get moving. For example, instead of sitting and chatting, try walking around while talking. Instead of parking close to your office door, park your car farther away and enjoy a brisk walk to the office instead.

Nutritionist Jaclyn Sprague, who practices on the campus of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center says there are some big healthy benefits to living an active lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight such as warding off a host of health risks including:

• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

Sprague says adjusting your diet along with your busy daily chores can help too. Other health experts are also weighing in on the study—hoping the news will go a long way in cutting out the old excuse of not exercising due to lack of time. They say this gives folks another way to stay fit.

For more health and nutrition tips and to get the latest scoop on the most popular fad diets, check out the Nutrition Boost AdvocateLive, featuring nutritionist, Jaclyn Sprague.