Housework for over-65s can be a leisure activity, finds study

ELDERLY people who devote three hours a day or more to housework feel healthier than those who do less, according to new research.

A study of more than 35,000 adults in Europe and the US revealed that tasks such as childcare and gardening had the biggest positive impact on health.

It found that women did an average of five hours of chores per day compared with three done by men.

Previous research has revealed that the “double burden” of paid work and the uneven division of housework can make working-age women more vulnerable to depression and other mental health problems.

But now scientists at the Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen, Germany, believe that post-retirement, housework can have similar benefits to a leisure activity.

One of the report’s authors, Nicholas Adjei, doctoral researcher in public health, said: “The percentage of those aged 65 and over is increasing globally due to higher life expectancy.

“It is important to understand how older adults spend their time in these later years.”