Live longer, do more housework!

Today's prize for really crappy "social science" research with an agenda goes to Leonie Bloomfield (female) at the Social Policy Research Centre, Victoria, Australia, who thinks that a study of 200 men shows that more free time means laziness and boredom which means higher mortality. She also thinks "men already enjoy much more [free time] than women, because of gender inequalities in housework, childcare and other unpaid work". No female control group is mentioned. Nothing is said about the employment status, age, social level, death rate, etc. of the sample. Hmmm. Can we see just the faintest outlines of an agenda here? Men die sooner because they don't do the housework? I can just see all those overworked housewives clucking over their coffees while oggling the photo of some oiled-up beefcake in an apron tickling his hifi with a feather duster.

Who pays these people?

Tags: Bad Science, Male Mortality.