新奇事件簿 做家务并不能代替身体锻炼

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.

一项新的研究表明干家务并不是许多人认为的那样是一种有效的锻炼形式。报告甚至还称那些家务负担最重的人通常也是体重超重的人。这项研究叫作“干家务更健康？干家务的运动量与身体健康。”该研究对例如自己动手、园艺以及干家务等活动是否有益进行了质疑。该研究承认运动总比不锻炼要好，但是称那些干家务的人群会自认为这些是中等强度运动，并误认为这些是适当运动，这是非常危险的。

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."

有总共4563名成年人参加了该研究，该研究是以研究对象每周的锻炼为基础的。分析称那些将家务看做是每周活动一部分的人群体重偏重。研究组长玛丽·墨菲教授称：“家务是体力运动，任何体力活动从理论上说都应该消耗卡路里。但是我们发现干家务却不会让人们减肥，这就表明人们或许是高估了干家务所带来的锻炼强度，或者是为了补偿消耗而食用了过多食物。

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。