Housework is Good for Your Health
January 2, 2007 by Maricar
Filed under General Housekeeping and Homemaking
I’ve always known that housework is good exercise. Now there are even more health reasons to tackle those chores. Kate Baggott, who writes b5media’s Babylune, quotes a study in reported in The Times. Apparently, doing a certain amount of housework (16.1 to 17.7 hours per week) reduces the risk of breast cancer in women:
Pre-menopausal women who did housework were found to be about 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than pre-menopausal women who did none.
Meanwhile, post-menopausal women who did housework were found to be about 20% less likely to develop the disease than post-menopausal women who did none.
The researchers analysed data from 218,169 women from nine European countries, with an age range of 20 to 80.
I guess I should keep this in mind when I have to mop the floor or load the dishwasher for the umpteenth time. Doing laundry keeps me healthy, yahoo! 
Tags: housework, housework and health, housekeeping, homemaking
Well, I’m still not sure about this. Housework might help prevent breast cancer, but a few dust balls and a little pet fur under the beds prevents asthma. I also think that using elbow grease to clean, rather than chemicals is part of the formula.
But I do hope the floor-cleaning helps me some how.
I think it’s the exercise that’s the major benefit. I agree with you about the chemicals too. It could also be an indirect association. Are those who are more likely to clean also more likely to be conscious about their health? I don’t know. But if housework really helps my health, then it’s encouraging news.