Apparently women are getting fatter because they are doing less housework. Boo-bloody-hoo!
Researchers in the UK say the fact that women are spending less time on household chores is contributing to the country’s obesity epidemic.
The average British woman now spends nearly 20 per cent less of her day on housework than women did in the early 1980s.
Conducted by researchers from Manchester University and Royal Holloway, University of London, the study found women now spend more time at work rather than in the home, and it’s this swap that may be responsible for putting the weight on.
Chores such as mopping floors burn around 200 calories an hour, whereas working on a computer uses as little as 70 calories.
So we’re sitting on our butts at work instead of running around looking after the household? Ah well, deal with it!
I can’t help but think it’s typical of the Brits to come up with a finding so archaic (and being part Brit, I’m totally allowed to criticise them). God forbid a woman should want a career!
The days when a woman’s place was ‘in the home’ are long gone. Yes, some of us are stay at home mums (myself included) but even that, for many mums, is for the short term or involves running a business from home. The ‘SAHM’ role is certainly not as easy as people may think.
The study, which used a range of government data on calorie counts and exercise levels, found that we eat out more, snack more and spend more in the supermarket than our 1980s counterparts.
It also found that advances in technology have meant that any chores being done are not burning the same number of calories, despite saving us time.
However, while this study says we're doing less housework, another UK study showed that women spend six years of their lives looking after the home - far more than men, who instead spend their time socialising, exercising and playing video games.
A woman will spend years of her life cooking, four years shopping and seven looking after children. Enough said really.
So we're working harder, enjoying life (read=food) more and carrying a few extra kilos - oh well!
