Street Or Homework, Which Activities Burn The Most Calories?

Illustration of doing household chores (Freepik)

JAKARTA - In the midst of busyness, it is often difficult for us to take the time to exercise outdoors, such as walking. Instead, many compare this activity with household chores.

It's true, homework such as sweeping,economy, or gardening involves similar physical activity. But, does it replace walking time with homework as effectively as you burn calories?

Reported by VOI from the Times of India page on Monday, February 10, Walking is one of the easiest forms of exercise to do. In addition to being free and can be done anywhere, walking has many health benefits, including improving heart health, strengthening muscles, and reducing stress.

In terms of burning calories, a person can burn about 100-200 calories per hour while walking at moderate speed. If you want to increase the number of calories more burned, things you can do:

- Increase running speed

- Walk on the hiking trail

- Using additional loads such as backpacks or ankle weights

- Melakukan interval berjalan cepat dan lambat secara berbelatan

In addition to physical benefits, walking also provides mental benefits. Exposure to sunlight and fresh air when walking outside the room can increase vitamin D levels and improve mood.

Although it is not considered a sport, household work can actually burn a lot of calories. Activities such as extracting dust, dying, gardening, or washing windows are classified as light to moderate exercise that requires physical energy.

The following is the estimated number of calories burned in one hour:

- Suctioning dust: 175 calories

- Sticking the floor: 200 calories

- Gardening: 250-300 calories (depending on the type of task)

- Washing dishes: 90 calories

Homework involving many movements such as bending, lifting, or shifting furniture tends to burn more calories than more static work such as ironing or washing dishes. However, the number of calories burned can vary depending on the intensity and duration of activity.

The answer depends on the objective. If you want to burn calories in a more structured and consistent way, walking at a faster speed is more efficient. Running for an hour at a speed of about 6.4 km/hour can burn about 300-400 calories, depending on your weight.

However, if you don't have special time to walk, doing more intense homework can be a good alternative. The combination of tasks such as sweeping, sweeping, sweeping the floor, and vacuuming dust for an hour can burn about 250-300 calories, the amount is almost equivalent to walking at moderate speed.

In general, walking tends to be more consistent in burning calories. While homework can have an intensity variation depending on the type of task performed. Walking is also easier to maintain in the long term because the movement is repeated and structured. Meanwhile, homework often involves changes in more dynamic movement.

In terms of physical benefits, walking more coaches of the lower body muscles, while homework can involve more muscles, such as hands, shoulders, and body cores (cores), depending on their activity.

In addition, walking outdoors has additional benefits such as reducing anxiety and increasing mood, while homework provides satisfaction because the environment becomes cleaner and neater.

A study from Lancet in 2023 highlights the importance of physical activity even in only a short duration. The study found that doing moderate to high-intensity physical activity for 1-5 minutes a day was enough to reduce the risk of death and cardiovascular disease by 29-44%.

If you want to stay active but it's hard to take the time to walk or special exercise, here are some simple tips:

- Start the day on foot for 30 minutes to increase heart rate and metabolism.

- Take 30 minutes to do homework that involves various body movements.

- If you don't have time to walk, increase the intensity of your homework to keep burning calories effectively.

Both on foot and homework, both have their own benefits. The most important thing is to stay active and choose activities that are most in line with lifestyle.