• Posted January 7, 2026

Walking, Household Chores Can Be Lifesaving Therapy For People With Metabolic Syndrome

Walking or doing a few household chores may be lifesaving for people with metabolic syndrome, a new study says.

Just a one-hour daily increase in such light physical activity was associated with a 14% to 20% lower risk of death over 14 years among people with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, researchers reported today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Light physical activity is an overlooked treatment tool that can help improve heart health for people with CKM syndrome,” said lead researcher Joseph Sartini, a doctoral candidate in biostatistics at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

“For those in later CKM syndrome stages, the potential health benefits of light activity are substantial,” Sartini added in a news release.

Nearly 90% of U.S. adults have at least one component of CKM syndrome, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, excess weight and reduced kidney function.

When combined, these factors increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure more than any single factor on its own, researchers said in background notes.

Physical activity is commonly advised for people suffering from heart or metabolic problems, but more strenuous exercise might not be feasible for people with advanced CKM syndrome, researchers said.

“There’s growing evidence that lighter activity like walking or gardening can be beneficial for heart health. However, studies have not examined the long-term benefits for those with heart disease or those at high risk for heart disease,” senior researcher Michael Fang, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data for about 7,200 U.S. adults gathered between 2003 and 2006 as part of the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the survey collects information from participants’ physical examinations and blood samples, and tracks up to seven days of activity levels using wearable devices.

Researchers used the data to compare a person’s light physical activity to their overall health, taking into account their CKM risk factors.

“Light physical activity is something you can do without losing your breath,” Sartini said. “Common examples are yoga, casual walking, stretching and household chores.”

CKM syndrome is assessed using stages 0 through 4, researchers said:

• People with no health problems or risk factors are at stage 0, while those with excess weight or prediabetes are at stage 1.

• People with multiple components of CKM and moderate- to high-risk kidney disease are at stage 2.

• Patients with very-high-risk kidney disease, high risk for heart disease or stroke, or other signs of heart problems are at stage 3.

• People with multiple CKM risk factors, peripheral artery disease, chronic kidney disease and a history of heart attack, stroke or abnormal heart rhythm are at stage 4.

Results showed that light physical activity was significantly associated with lower risk of death in CKM syndrome stages 2 through 4.

Further, increased time doing light activity provided more benefit to people at higher CKM stages.

For example, increasing activity from 90 minutes to 2 hours a day — just a half-hour’s difference — was associated with a 2.2% lower risk of death among stage 2 patients, but a 4.2% lower risk among stage 4 patients, results showed.

It’s crucial to learn more about the potential benefits of light activity, said Bethany Barone Gibbs, chair of epidemiology and biostatistics at West Virginia University School of Public Health in Morgantown, who reviewed the findings.

“We know less about the health impacts of light-intensity activities compared to more intense physical activity,” she said in a news release.

“Light intensity activities provide a great opportunity to promote energy expenditure, movement and circulation — all healthy physiological processes that we assume are related to better health — but research in this area is limited,” Gibbs concluded.

More information

The American Heart Association has more on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Jan. 7, 2026

What This Means For You

Even light activity like walking or housework can improve the health of people with metabolic disorder.