Who or what's to blame for Americans' sedentary lifestyles? Many argue it's technology. Instead of scrubbing clothes in a wash tub and hanging them out dry we throw them into the washer and dryer. Instead of walking or biking to get to the store or our jobs we drive. Instead of getting up to change the channel we use the remote. Instead of playing active games outside we sit inside and watch TV or play computer or video games. The list goes on and on. Below, you will find the number of calories we miss out on burning by choosing technology (four labor-saving devices) instead of activity. 

Calories Burned Per Day* 

 

The Active Way

With Labor-saving Device Difference

Manual clothes washing

45 +/- 14

Machine clothes washing

27 +/- 9

~18 calories/day

Manual dish washing

80 +/- 28

Machine dish washing

54 +/- 19

~26 calories/day

Walking to work (0.8 miles)

83 +/- 17

Driving to work (0.8 miles)

25 +/- 3

  

~58 calories/day

Stair climbing

11 +/- 7

Elevator Riding

3 +/- 1

 ~8 calories/day

Combined impact of choosing technology vs. activity

110 calories/day

*Source: Lanningham-Foster L, Nysse LJ, Levine JA. Labor saved, calories lost: the energetic impact of domestic labor-saving devices. Obes Res. 2003;11:1178-1181. 

While 110 calories per day doesn't seem like much, this could result in more than 10 pounds gained per year! And this is just four of the many labor-saving devices we use each day!

But, is technology all bad? Are there ways that technology can help us become more active? Post your thoughts and we'll provide ours on next week's blog.