新奇事件簿 做家务不能代替体育锻炼

A new study suggests housework is not the quality form of exercise many people consider it to be. The report even went as far as saying that those who did the most housework were usually those most overweight. The study is called, "Does doing housework keep you healthy? The contribution of domestic physical activity to meeting current recommendations for health". It questions whether physical activities such as do-it-yourself, gardening and housework are such good exercise. It acknowledges that any activity is better than none, but says, "there is a danger that those undertaking¹ domestic 'chores' may assume that this activity is moderate intensity²" and wrongly count it as proper exercise.

一项新的研究发现，做家务并不像很多人认为的那样是有质量的锻炼方式。该报告甚至说，做家务最多的人通常超重最多。这份研究题为“做家务能让你保持健康吗？家务活动在满足当前健康需求方面的贡献。”这份研究质疑DIY，花园劳动和家务是不是好的运动。研究承认，任何活动都比完全不运动更好，但是，“做家务的人会假设这种活动强度适中，这非常危险”，而且他们错误地认为家务是合适的锻炼。

A total of 4,563 adults participated in the survey, which was based on participants' weekly physical activity. The analysis from this research showed that people who included housework as part of their weekly exercise tended to be heavier. Research leader professor Marie Murphy said: "Housework is physical activity and any physical activity should theoretically increase the amount of calories [burnt]. But we found that housework was inversely³ related to leanness, which suggests that either people are overestimating⁴ the amount of moderate intensity physical activity they do through housework, or are eating too much to compensate⁵ for the amount of activity undertaken."

共有4563名成年人参加了这项调查，了解受调查者每周的运动情况。分析显示，将家务视为每周锻炼的一部分的人体重更重。首席研究人员Marie Murphy教授表示：“家务是体力活动，任何体力活动从理论上讲都应该增加热量的消耗。但是我们发现家务对身材苗条起到反作用，这表明，人们高估了做家务时的适度活动的作用，或者做了家务之后过量饮食来补偿自己。”

1 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

2 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

3 inversely   

adj.相反的

参考例句：

• Pressure varies directly with temperature and inversely with volume. 压力随温度成正比例变化，与容积成反比例变化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The amount of force needed is inversely proportional to the rigidity of the material. 需要的力度与材料的硬度成反比。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 overestimating   

对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you're overestimating his abilities. 我看你对他的能力评价过高。
• With hindsight, he was overestimating their desire for peace. 事后看来，他高估了他们对和平的渴望。

5 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。