Harvard researchers are revealed to have concluded their study to determine exactly how much physical activity a woman requires in midlife to avoid gaining weight as she ages.

The researchers discovered that an hour of moderate activity a day involving recreational activities such as brisk walking, leisurely bicycling, ballroom dancing and playing with children helped women of normal weight to maintain their weight thereby preventing them from gaining more than five pounds over any three-year period.

In addition, they recommend that nearly half of that amount of vigorous activity, like running, jogging or fast biking, will prove to be of a great help.

The paper’s lead author, Dr. I-Min Lee, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health quoted, “It’s so hard to lose weight and maintain the loss, so whatever weight you are, you should try to stay that weight — that is a success”.

The paper, published in the March 24 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, revealed that women who got the similar amount of workout but were found not to gain weight.

The average weight gain reported over the entire 15 year time span of the study, involving 34,079 healthy women with an average age of 54 at the initiation, was just over five pounds.