Women are getting fatter because they are doing less HOUSEWORK scientists claim

WOMEN are getting fatter because they are doing less housework, claims a study.

Two women do some ironingGETTY

A study claims women are getting fatter because they are doing less housework

Researchers say that women spending less time on household chores has contributed to the obesity epidemic in Britain.

The average British woman now spends nearly 20 per cent less of her day on housework than her counterpart in the early 1980s.

Women now spend more time at work, and the swap from housework to office work may have put more pounds on the scale.

Advances in technology, while saving people time and effort, have meant that any chores being done are not burning the same number of calories.

Mopping floors burns 200 calories an hour - enough for a chocolate bar– whereas working on a computer uses as little as 70 calories.

Obesity levels have tripled in the UK in the last 30 years, and lack of activity has contributed to this trend.

But while women are doing less housework, men are actually helping out more in the home.

Researchers from Manchester University and Royal Holloway, University of London used a range of government data on calorie counts and exercise levels to find out the cause.

They found that we eat out more, snack more and spend more in the supermarket than our 1980s counterparts.

However, despite ballooning obesity levels, the average Brit eats around 20 per cent fewer calories, leading the researchers to blame our lack of activity.

Researcher Melanie Luhrmann said this is because we are buying more fruits and vegetables rather than sugary and high fat treats.

Jobs have become more sedentary, with more people working in offices, and people spend an average of just 11.5 minutes a day playing sport.

Commutes are also getting longer, but rather than short walks to the office we spend more time in cars or trains.

Dr Luhrmann, an Economics lecturer, told the Daily Mail: "Basically, people are eating less but maybe they are not eating little enough, given that activity levels have declined a lot.

"Our research suggests that we are probably ill-advised to just look at food consumption as the main factor explaining obesity.

"Both physical activity and calories are important.

"Maybe we should spend more time on a more comprehensive approach where we don’t tell people to do more sport or eat less, but to work out how active they are and work on their diet accordingly."