There is no doubt that modern electronic devices have transformed both people’s work and their leisure time so that many people spend less time exercising. However, it is not entirely clear whether this has resulted in their reduced health.

Many jobs, for example, office work requires employees to work from a desk and therefore be seated for most of the time. This is truer nowadays with the widespread use of computers. However, computers have not affected physical jobs such as farming or construction as yet and many people still do physical work as they did in the past.  However,  machines such as more up to date farm machinery or domestic washing machines for instance have reduced the amount of physical work done by people.

On the other hand, how people spend their spare time has changed considerably.  Many hours are spent sitting watching television, playing games and more recently using social media. This means that they do less physical exercise than before. This is one reason why some people are overweight and this affects their health as they get older.

Additionally however, recent changes in the diet of many people have also led to increases in obesity. As society has developed, people are able to eat more than they did in the past, and harmful sugar and fat intake has also generally increased. Therefore modern inventions cannot account for reductions in a population’s health.  In fact, new technologies have led to better medicines and treatments and many people live longer now as a result.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that people are healthier now and generally live healthier lives. Therefore it is difficult to conclude that modern inventions are harmful to our health. A balanced diet and making sure we take a reasonable amount of weekly or daily exercise are far more important.