Fiona Duffy

AS A housewife from the 1950s, I would have been shunned in the street for my unscrubbed doorstep, dingy net curtains and tarnished door knockers. Domesticity and I have never got on.

By sheer luck, I married a domestic god – a man who was at his happiest cooking, cleaning and dishwasheremptying.

But, while I lay on the sofa and happily munched my way through packets of biscuits as my husband whirled around me with the vacuum cleaner, this slovenliness took its toll on my figure.

New research this week revealed that women’s average waists have grown by 15cm since the 1950s. I am determined to tackle what is literally a growing problem.

The 1950s domestic bible, Newnes Household Management, claims that embracing housework can transform my figure.

Nestled between chapters on Keeping a Domestic Goat and Grow Your Own Smokes was what I needed – Housework For The Figure – written by BBC keep-fit expert of the time, Eileen Fowler, pictured.

“I have exercised all my life,’’ wrote Eileen.

“Domestic duties involve a great deal of movement and by merging them with easy exercises, you can help your figure,” she said.

When I spoke to personal trainer and body confidence performance coach Kim Ingleby, she assured me Eileen’s theories still hold good today.

“Housework is brilliant exercise,” Kim enthused.

“It uses all your muscles and burns loads of calories.”

So with Kim’s help, I devised the ultimate 1950s housewife’s workout.

For extra authenticity, I gathered some 1950s cleaning products recommended by eco-living expert Janey Lee Grace. Among these were lemons, bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar — and a lot of elbow grease.

With Garmin’s magic watch, which counts the calories you’re burning as you exercise, I set out to see if cleaning the house can really prove as good a workout as sweating it out in the gym.