Abstract
We measured energy expenditure on several kinds of housework in a laboratory simulation and at home with a portable telemetry system. We also used a heart rate monitor and a pedometer to investigate a simple and precise method for estimating energy expenditure on low-intensity daily activities such as housework.
Housework requiring high energy expenditure caused a high heart rate, and that needing less energy expenditure resulted in a correspondingly lower heart rate. There were no marked differences in either energy expenditure or RMR with those figures reported in the past.
With such tasks as rubbing walls and mopping floors, energy expenditure doing these tasks hard was significantly greater than when doing them lightly. Energy expenditure in a standing position for such tasks as cooking and sweeping was relatively low, while jobs in a semi-squatting posture such as wiping the stairs with a damp cloth expended more energy than when weeding a garden.
Under actual home conditions, the subjects did several kinds of housework, energy expenditure on such mixed housework being 0.044±0.006 kcal/kg·min.
When seeking a simple and precise method for estimating energy expenditure in daily life, using the heart rate resulted in overestimation, while the pedometer significantly underestimated in comparison with the figures from the portable telemetry system.
