Summary
Many of us find our jobs stressful, underpaid and the hours too long. But few would complain about work being less physically strenuous than in the past. And yet, new research shows that the decline in physical activity at work is key to explaining the obesity epidemic. So - is work now too easy? And if it is, can this be reversed? Producers: Estelle Doyle and Phoebe Keane Presenter: Michael Blastland
(Photo: Office workers at desks using computers in an office. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC |
| 0:35.4 | Sounds. Once upon a time my grandad was a fisherman. They all were then in those parts. He worked the North Sea, sometimes over to Iceland. |
| 0:57.0 | Long trips, sometimes atrocious conditions. Friends lost at sea. Hard work, a hard life. |
| 1:05.0 | Cut to 2017 and I sit in a bubble in front of a laptop. |
| 1:12.0 | I get up now and then, oh the effort, for a cup of tea. This is my job. |
| 1:19.2 | Work today forevermore of us physically is a dole comparatively. |
| 1:24.6 | In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, says the Bible. |
| 1:27.8 | For some, yes, but in the developed world plenty eat well enough with no trace of sweat. This change in working life has been dramatic |
| 1:36.1 | and few would go back. The old jobs could be killers, literally. But has this change come |
| 1:42.1 | at a heavy price? |
| 1:44.0 | I'm Michael Blasland. |
| 1:46.0 | Our question in this week's inquiry is work too easy. Part 1. Calories in and out. |
| 1:55.0 | Calories in and calories out. My name is Melanie Lerman and I'm a senior lecturer at Ron Holloway. |
| 2:09.0 | Do you have a little calorie calculator in the back of your head all the time? |
| 2:12.0 | I like food very much and I don't want to turn myself into a research project where I'm crunching numbers all the time. |
| 2:21.0 | Madeline Lerman, our first expert witness, |
| 2:25.0 | has been puzzling over the causes of one of the biggest anxieties about modern life. |
... |
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