Exercise at Your Desk

Imagine being stuck behind a desk and losing weight. Impossible?

Well, not according to Dr. James Levine. It seems he's helped develop a desk that has a treadmill built in, and permits users to walk, instead of sit, while working. It is based on a "NEAT" principle: non-exercise activity thermogenesis. It appears that NEAT is far more important for calorie-burning than exercise in nearly everyone. From his paper in the British Medical Journal, the mean energy expenditure while being seated at work in an office chair was 72 + 10 kcal/hour whereas the energy expenditure while walking-and-working at a self-selected velocity of 1.1 + 0.4 mph, was 191 + 29 kcal/hour. The mean increase in energy expenditure for walking-and-working over sitting was 119 + 25 kcal/hour.

The desk is made by Steelcase and costs approximately $2000 US.

Only problem is: they can't make these desks fast enough!

-Wes

hat tip: The Health Blog.