New study reveals how changes in lifestyle are contributing to dramatic rise in obesity

Little things add up. Eg., my Dodge Dart did not have power brakes or power steering, and I did not find that to be a burden, but now small cars have power brakes and steering. When my Dart was in the shop for awhile, a co-worker lent me a car with power steering and brakes, and automatic transmission for a few months. I ended up putting on 5 pounds! Many cars have power windows. People use remote controls for their TVs.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/rhuo-nsr090115.php

Public Release: 1-Sep-2015
New study reveals how changes in lifestyle are contributing to dramatic rise in obesity
Royal Holloway, University of London

New research from Royal Holloway, University of London has found that changes in lifestyle over the past 30 years have led to a sharp reduction in the strenuousness of daily life, which researchers say may explain why there has been a dramatic rise in obesity.

The study, carried out by Dr Melanie Luhrmann from the Department of Economics along with Professor Rachel Griffith and Dr Rodrigo Lluberas, revealed that while obesity rates have almost trebled, surprisingly, our actual calorie intake has fallen by around 20 per cent compared to 30 years ago.

The researchers found our current lifestyle changes mean in spite of the smaller number of calories we put on weight as our lives have become more sedentary.

The study found that both men and women are more likely to work in less strenuous occupations than in the past. Work is important because it accounts for a large share of people's time but the academics also noted that how people spend time outside of work has also changed. For example, both men and women spend more time watching TV and more time commuting by public transport or car which are much less strenuous than walking or cycling.

The research also found a link between work and calories with many workers eating out more and purchasing less calories for home consumption. This suggests that the success of policy interventions aiming to reverse the rise in obesity by changing people's food purchasing behaviour may depend on taking interactions between work and calories into account.

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