Maybe women should quit their jobs and return to the household chores in order to stay fit. Well, that’s right! According to a new study, women in the 1960s were slimmer and in better shape, because they did a lot more vacuuming, dusting and washing than today’s women.
The study’s conclusions may sound unpleasant or offensive to some women, but actually it’s not about quitting your job. It’s not even about housework versus office work, the study in fact tries to compare modern, sedentary lifestyle to the more healthy and active life five decades ago. The researchers at the University of South Carolina and the Arnold School of Public Health looked at data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on the daily activity of working and stay-at-home women from 1965 until now. They found that in 1965 women spent 25.7 hours a week washing, pushing vacuums, mopping and cooking compared to only 13.3 hours per week for women in 2010.
The results also showed that modern women spent averagely 16.5 hours a week in front of the screen – televisions, computers or tablets, while ladies in the past spent only half of that time, or roughly 8 hours a week. And who do you think was heavier? Unfortunately, modern women weigh on average, 22 pounds more than women in 1965. But does this mean we have to go back to the traditional status quo – men go to work and women are doing the housework and taking care of the kids? Of course not, the study points out that this is just an example of how evolution of technologies is making us more sedentary, both women and men. And in order to stay healthy we need to deliberately spend more time in exercising or practicing a sport.
The researchers made another important conclusion – the lack of activity in mothers today causes greater risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in children, according to the results. So, inactivity and sedentary behavior are as dangerous to the child’s development during pregnancy as alcohol and smoking. All these conclusions sound shocking and alarming, but other experts said that there are many other factors for obesity epidemic. Furthermore, they questioned the whole point of this study reminding it was sponsored by soft drink giant Coca-Cola. So, how can we trust the findings of this research? Well, it says truth after all – we aren’t physically active nowadays and sadly, we are heavier than our parents and grandparents.
