Flower pots, television sets and even pets have been sent flying by the high kicks and hula hoop motions of increasingly vigorous home exercise routines, a study found.
And with the credit crunch forcing households to rein in spending on luxuries such as expensive gym memberships, the toll of destruction on Britain’s living rooms is only expected to rise.
Nearly a fifth of women polled admitted having accidents after getting carried away in the living room – bumping into furniture, banging their head or pulling a muscle, the research carried out for women-only insurer Sheila’s Wheels found.
Almost a fifth of women who exercise indoors have been involved in accidents the poll found. The most common-calamities include bumping into furniture (30 per cent) and pulling a muscle (19 per cent).
But an alarming number of women have been involved in more bizarre accidents – ranging from tripping over a pet (18 per cent) to banging their heads (13 per cent).
Vases are the most commonly damaged item, followed closely by televisions. The average cost of the damage caused by an exercise accident in the home is £6.55 per household.
Based on the Government’s estimate of the UK’s female population, this works out at £20,155,080 in total each year.
