Housework may be hard work – but it may not be an effective way of keeping fit, researchers warned today.
A new study suggests that people who spend their time on domestic activity fail to lose weight at the same rate as those engaging in other forms of activity.
Until now housework has been included as form of activity along with daily tasks such as walking to the bus.
But a study of people in Northern Ireland, UK, found that those who included housework as activity – mainly women – tended to be heavier than others undertaking the same amount of activity.
One possibility is that the temptation to snack during housework is much greater than in other forms of activity.
The findings are reported in BMC Public Health.
The survey involved more than 4,500 adults. Some 43% claimed to achieve the target of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week – but two thirds of these included at least ten minutes of housework in their tally.
Researcher Professor Marie Murphy, of Ulster University, said: “Housework is physical activity and any physical activity should theoretically increase the amount of calories expended.
"But we found that housework was inversely related to leanness which suggests that either people are overestimating the amount of moderate intensity physical activity they do through housework, or are eating too much to compensate for the amount of activity undertaken.”
Chris Allen, a nurse with the British Heart Foundation, warned: "This survey suggests some of us may be overestimating how much physical activity we do by counting our housework as exercise.
“We should all aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week. Your exercise should make you breathe harder, feel warmer, and make your heart beat faster than usual. So, unless your household chores tick all these boxes, they won’t count."
Does housework keep you healthy? The contribution of domestic physical activity to meeting current recommendations. BMC Public Health 18 October 2013
Leave a Reply