Is a sedentary lifestyle really that bad?

• Living a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases

  • <5% of adults participate in 30 min of physical activity (PA) each day

  • Only 1 in 3 adults receive the recommended amount of PA each week

  • Only 35-44% of adults ages 75 and older and 28-34% of adults ages 65 to 74 are physically active

  • >80% of adults don’t meet the aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity guidelines, and >80% of adolescents don’t meet youth PA guidelines  

• There are 4 components of energy expenditure

  • Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

  • The Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF)

  • The Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)

  • Non-Exercising Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

• Let’s discuss NEAT

  • NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising; examples include walking at work, typing, walking to and from meetings and fidgeting. Daily NEAT is any physical activity that may increase metabolic rate, even if just for a brief period of time.

  • Daily additive unplanned or unstructured low intensity activities have been shown to be associated with energy expenditure beyond one’s resting metabolic rate (RMR) and account for significant thermogenesis and energy expenditure

    • More active lifestyle = higher NEAT = better energy balance

    • Studies show that obese individuals are seated two hours a day longer than lean people and that if obese individuals adopted the NEAT-enhanced behaviors of their lean counterparts they could expend an additional 350 calories per day

  • We do not fully understand the many factors that influence NEAT and more research needs to be conducted for further evaluation, but experts do agree that the more active your lifestyle is then the higher your NEAT will be which is critical to maintaining or lowering body weight.

• What are some ways to increase NEAT throughout the day (and in turn burn more calories)?

  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator

  • Park your car further away in the parking lot

  • Standing verses sitting

  • Take walking breaks- Take quick 10-minute walks every 2 hours

  • Bike or walk commute to work instead of driving

  • Play with your kids

  • Schedule walking meetings instead of sitting in a conference room

  • Pace and fidget more

  • Wash the dishes by hand

  • Play fetch with your dog/teach them a new trick

  • Use manual tools and utensils instead of powered labor-saving versions

• Today’s Challenge: Every hour on the hour perform 10 sit to stands from your work chair and take 5 diaphragmatic breaths afterward

  • Diaphragmatic Breathing: Sit comfortably with your knees bent and shoulders, head, and neck relaxed. Place one hand on your upper chest region and the other just below your rib cage over your upper belly. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose allowing your belly to extend outward against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain still. As you exhale through pursed lips, feel your stomach muscles tighten and the hand over your belly fall inward.

References:

• Chung N et al. “Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure.” J Exerc Nutrition Biochem. Vol. 22, No.2, 2018, pp. 23-30.

• NASM. (n.d.). Lesson 2 Components of Energy Out: Energy Balance and Metabolism: In Nutrition Certification