SubscribeNEAT: How Everyday Movement Keeps You Slim
In the ongoing science of weight regulation, one buzz-term that has garnered some recent attention is a phenomenon called "NEAT" (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). In plain English, this is the energy expended in everything we do that doesn't involve eating, sleeping and sport-related activity. This may include walking to work, typing, fidgeting, talking or performing other daily tasks such as shopping or yard work.
James Levine heads up the NEAT lab at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota.
Here are some highlights of an interview he did in the April 2008 issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter.
- In a study, sedentary lean and overweight people were fitted with "magical" underwear which monitored every movement of the body. Subjects were fed 1000 calories above their weight maintenance levels. People who can activate their NEAT don't gain fat when overfed, while those who don't switch on their NEAT were gaining literally 10 times more fat!
- Those who were obese moved 2½ hours less than lean people - which equates to about 350 fewer calories a day.
- Ambulation movement seemed to be the difference maker - not so much pre-planned power walking, but just constantly taking opportunities to move. Note: most of the subjects had desk jobs.
- There is no reason why people can't hold one-on-one meetings while walking, or cook with your kids, or choose activities on the weekend that aren't screen-related.
- About 30% of a person's daily expenditure comes from NEAT. (The other portions are from basal metabolism and thermic effect of eating). Those who are active have higher percentages of NEAT. This is the factor we have control over.
- NEAT burns more calories than exercise in most non-athletes.
- Some people are naturally more active while others are slow-moving. Levine speculates that this may be an evolutionary response to famine. Searching for food beyond boundaries increases NEAT, while an alternative response may have been to stop moving to conserve fuel and body fat stores.
- In the last 100 years, we have imposed a massive environmental kibosh to our ancient biology. 150 years ago, 90% of the world's population were agriculturists.
- Levine suggests that offices, schools and other public places need to be more conducive to activity. Some ideas are walking workstations and walk-and-meet tracks, where carpet tape is laid down to map out a walking route.
Will this make a difference?
NEAT is certainly part of the solution to combat poor health and weight, however it will not likely be THE factor, given the abundance of unhealthy foods we put in our bodies. The real trick is getting those who need it the most to form the movement-oriented habits that will help them reverse course. I think we need to make an especially concerted effort to help our children adopt a movement-centered lifestyle.
Sounds a interesting way of doing things in order to lose weight, never thought of it being that way before, who needs a gym membership after all.
ReplyI've always noticed that naturally I tend to sit more still and be more content being still than some of my friends. (Other than the couple of hours of actual exercise everyday, and concious choices like parking further from the store.) And it's one of those things you can't change so much-- if you're naturally still, you might move more when thinking about it, but you won't move so much otherwise. You can add things like walking instead of driving, but you'll still going to be more still most the time.
ReplyI keep that in mind to why I might need to exercise more than another person.
a lot of my friends dont believe that a little movement could go a long way. but doing things like getting up to change the channel, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and parking further from the door, really does make a difference when you go from sitting idle most of the day to integrating small bursts of energy in between it all.
ReplyI am a fidgeter, and I wonder if that sort of thing activates NEAT?
ReplyI once read some research that reckoned that you can burn up to 700 calories a day if you're a fidgeter!
ReplyCari
I used to fidget, but my friends all told me rocking back and forth creeped them out.
Hm.
ReplyI found this whole thing SO INTERESTING
I dont get a lot of NEAT but my sisterinlaw?
fab bod
never exercises
I now know she's a neatnick :)
Replyvery interesting. I'm subscribing to your blog today. I work in my home, so not much travel space. Any suggestions for people working from home?
ReplyJust goes to show that fat loss is a hormonal based event that can happen anytime you are in an aerobic state...which is all day including sleeping! Food dictates what your hormones are telling your body to do...whether to store fat or burn it. So keep active, eat the right foods, get your fat burning hormones activated and weight loss is just going to happen. (Have more details under my fat loss 101 blog post)
Active lifestyle habits win the race in the fat loss war! Throw out the HR monitors and just go live life! :)
ReplyI have experienced this in action! When my activity levels are high beyond my regular exercise routine, I see actual weight loss, rather than just the frustrating maintenance - or worse, weight gain.
I have a very busy but sedentary job, but I happen to live in a small town with a great little shopping area and park. Additionally, most of my friends live nearby. It is not uncommon for us to walk around town and the park together. On occasion we get a small cup of freshly made ice cream and walk through the park while we eat - no damage done. These walks are casual and do not build up a sweat. Sometimes one friend will bring a frisby, and before you know it, we are playing like children and sweating our butts off (literally).
Various people are going to have advantages and disadvantages to their home/job locations and type of work they perform. The trick is to find what advantages you have and make the most of them.
*Have kids: play with them in the local park
*Live close to work: walk or ride your bike
*Live in an urban environment: walk to the grocery store regularly (you buy less and can carry your groceries home)
*Live in the suburbs: stop using the dryer and hang your clothes to dry
Practicing NEAT creates a virtuous cycle. Once you do it consciously for a while, you realize you start doing other NEAT things without thinking about too much. Why? You naturally feel better and have more energy.
Spring is here! Pack a healthy lunch and walk to a nice area or park to eat. Take a long route back to work.
ReplyGreat tips, Susanna and inpiring personal accounts.
ReplyI'll have to use the patented Aaron Sorkin "walk and talk" while at work.
ReplyThere have been studied showing that 'fidgeters' burn significantly more calories than 'non-fidgeters'
We all know people who can't sit still, just as we know others who require a small nuclear explosion to get them up off of the couch.
Of those two types of people, which is more likely to be lean and which obese?
ReplyMy dh is the least active person I know. He sits in a patrol car all day, and at home, he rarely budges from the couch (reading, not watching TV) unless he has to. He does run four days a week, but other than that, he is incredibly sedentary. I've never seen the man fidgit. He also never met a vegetable he liked and love to eat nothing but a gigantic bowl of popcorn for lunch. He is not overweight and never has been.
I, on the other hand, usually get 10,000 steps on my pedometer every day, exercise for an hour every morning in addition to that, fidgit all the time, eat a really healthy diet...and I'm still 20 pounds overweight. The only time in my life that I wasn't overweight was when I overexercised, ate 1500 calories a day, and went around starving and freezing all the time. It's all in the genes.
ReplyDoes this show a cause-and-effect relationship or simply a correlation? It's pretty easy to jump to a causal relationship because of our bias when, in fact, two observed behaviors or outcomes, such as obesity and less movement, both stem from another common cause. I'm not declaring that this is the case, here, just injecting what I hope is a bit of healthy skepticism into the discussion.
ReplyI think it's a valid question, Bob - one in which I don't have the answer to. What I took from this article is that NEAT can make a pretty substantial difference when it comes to our waistlines. That said, there are other factors at play - metabolic, hormonal and dietary (with the latter influencing the 2 former) that are part of a bigger puzzle.
I'm convinced that NEAT does have an impact, although it's not enough to override poor dietary and other lifestyle habits.
ReplyI tend to agree with you, Mike. I think NEAT is one of many factors that can help control your weight. I think a lot of people that say they are "naturally thin" probably fidget a lot more than their peers, but even if you are a fidgeter and you eat a ton of junk, you'll still probably be at least somewhat overweight. Those of us that aren't fidgeters just need to be aware of that and make up for it by doing a little more structured exercise.
ReplyI so agree. When I gave up the gym, I LOST weight. Because instead of being a slug 24/7 I was doing stuff an running errands. I now focus on hobbies and doing things I like occasionally for exercise.
ReplyKeeping busy can keep you out of the refrigerator!
ReplyI'm not really a "fidgeter", but I try to walk whenever I can and I do a lot of activities around the house like laundry, cooking, cleaning, vacuuming, etc. that keeps me off my butt. My husband's dad is definitely a fidgeter though...he walks and "putters" almost constantly and he is definitely NOT fat. My husband doesn't formally exercise either, but he keeps his weight in check by staying active. He is always getting up to do stuff in his garage, etc.
My mom is a very sedentary person though...she literally won't get up to do anything. She makes my dad run and fetch everything for her. I remember when we were kids....she'd be in the living room and I'd be in the kitchen or something and she'd holler for me to come in to the living room to change the channels on the TV because the remote was either lost or missing the batteries. Or she'd tell me to turn on the light for her...which was about 2 feet from the sofa. It's kind of no wonder that she's pretty obese.
ReplyIt's interesting and I like the idea of employers becoming more aware of how their staff could get a little more exercise while at work.
But let's face it, to be healthy we need to take exercise. It's funny how we always try to look for little cheats and alternatives!
The danger with this is it can be used as an excuse not to exercise.
But we all know that it's important to get some decent exercise in, every day (I can just imagine all the personal trainers out there saying to their clients "Just get a bit of fidgeting in today and you're golden." :-) ~ James
ReplyThe human body was meant to move. Like one of those motion wristwatches, if you don't wear it enough (movement in it in motion) it begins to slow down, tell the wrong time and stop eventually.
Human body + sedentary lifestyle = poor function, eventual 'breakdown' in someway.
Move. Every chance you logically have. But also learn when to relax, slow down and mentally relax as well.
ReplyGreat article, Mike....I like to call it 'life-ercise' - just those little extra bits (like parking further away when going grocery shopping, or dancing with your broom while you're sweeping...) that present us with a natural opportunity to move. I think your article about NEAT is neat!
ReplyThanks Cari
I like the point about moving while at the same time talking to people. So often we stand still when communicating when a light walk or another activity might work as well.
Reply