Looking after baby akin to a gym session, research shows

Sep 7, 2011, 0:34 GMT

Sydney - Mothers who lug a 10-kilogram baby around all day are doing the equivalent of a weights session in the gym, research published Wednesday in Australia said.

'We all know parents with young children are often tired, and we put it down to lack of sleep, but perhaps it's also the solid weights workout they get on a daily basis,' said Lynette Argent, chief executive of Million Dollar Woman.

Argent commissioned research firm Newspoll to conduct a study that found mothers of a 9-month-old baby lift their 10-kilogram bundle of joy about 90 times a day.

'Who would have thought that stay-at-home parents lift the equivalent of 1 ton, or a baby elephant, every day or so?' she said.

Newspoll also found that new mothers spend less than half as much on health and fitness as full-time workers.

Million Dollar Woman is a subsidiary of financial services company Suncorp Group that offers insurance policies to housewives to pay for help with domestic chores.

Policyholders can claim if a doctor declares them unfit for doing the laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning and looking after children.