Everyday tasks such as housework and gardening are helping a significant proportion of Scots meet the levels of physical activity recommended by experts, according to a study.
Researchers found nearly two-thirds of adults in Scotland are meeting national physical activity guidelines in their spare time – but the majority are doing so without playing any sport.
Walking and domestic activities such as housework, DIY and gardening accounted for more than half of the leisure time total for men and women who did more than the recommended 150 minutes of activity a week.
Team sports and individual sports made only a small contribution among those who met the guidelines, accounting for 15% of activity time among men and less than 4% for women.
Experts said their findings should help policy-makers decide whether they are promoting the right activities to the right people.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences and the University of Oxford analysed data from the 2013 Scottish Health Survey, which featured nearly 5,000 adults.
The teams found 64% of adults were managing to meet the guidelines, and that the time spent being active did not decrease significantly between younger and older age groups.
Although the proportion of people meeting the threshold decreased with age, those who stayed active in older age did as much leisure time activity as younger people.
Around 80% of 16-24 year olds were found to be sufficiently active, compared with less than half of the over-65s.
The average active 65-year-old and the average active 30-year-old were both found to do more than 700 minutes of activity a week.
Among those who did not meet the guidelines, domestic activity still accounted for most of the activity across all age groups.
Tessa Strain, of Edinburgh University’s Physical Activity Health Research Centre, said: “These findings show that you can meet the recommended amount of physical activity by everyday activities such as walking.
“This is good news for those without the competitive inclination to step on to a sports field, pitch or court, or for those who feel that gyms are not for them.”
The study has been published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports.