A study says people should not think housework is quality exercise. It said that people who did the most housework were usually the most overweight. The study questioned whether housework keeps us healthy. It tried to find out if activities like do-it-yourself, gardening and housework met recommendations for health. It said any activity is better than none, but that there is a danger that people might incorrectly think housework is proper exercise.

A total of 4,563 adults took a survey about their weekly activities. The research showed that people who included housework as exercise were heavier. Professor Marie Murphy said any physical activity will burn calories. However, her study found that fatter people did the most housework. She said people overestimate housework as exercise, or they eat too much because they think they have lost lots of calories doing the washing and cleaning.