London - They have saved women from hours of domestic drudgery. But dishwashers, microwaves and other mod-cons may have added inches to their waistlines.
Researchers say a drop in the amount of time spent on housework has contributed to the obesity epidemic.
A wide-ranging comparison of British lives today with those of 30 years ago revealed that women are spending more time at work and devoting less time to housework.
The average female now spends almost 20 percent less time on chores than her counterpart in the early 1980s. Advances in technology also meant the housework she does do is likely to be lighter.
While this brings many benefits, substituting strenuous housework for sedentary office work may take its toll on the waistline. For instance, while mopping floors burns off 200 calories an hour – roughly a bar of chocolate – sitting in front of a computer uses as few as 70.
Men, however, can’t use lack of housework as an excuse for their pot bellies. The UK’s males are actually doing slightly more around the house than in the past, the European Economic Association’s annual conference heard.
Britain has the biggest obesity problem in western Europe and it’s feared more than half the population could be obese by 2050.
To work out what is driving the change, researchers from Manchester University and Royal Holloway, University of London, used a range of government data to crunch information on calorie counts and exercise levels.
To their surprise, they found that although we eat out more, snack more and spend more on food, we eat around 20 percent fewer calories than we did 30 years ago. Researcher Melanie Luhrmann said this is because we are buying fruit and vegetables and other healthier foods rather than sugar-loaded treats.
Despite this, the weight is piling on, and Dr Luhrmann believes this is because we are exercising less. Jobs have become more sedentary, people spend more time watching TV and little sport is played.
The study showed the average Britain spends just 11.5 minutes a day playing sport. Finally, commutes are longer but less active. So, while 30 years ago, someone may have had a short walk to work, today they may have a much longer journey sitting on public transport. Dr Luhrmann, a lecturer in economics, said: 'People are eating less but maybe they are not eating little enough, given that activity levels have declined a lot.
'Our research suggests we are probably ill-advised to just look at food consumption as the main factor explaining obesity.'
Daily Mail