Exercise in Futility

The Independent, London, UK

'Treadmill desks' could cut obesity rates in the office
By Jeremy Laurance
Published: 15 May 2007

As solutions to the obesity crisis go, one idea dreamed up by two US
scientists could transform our notion of the office. Instead of walking to work, the pair have designed a desk that enables the overweight to walk at work.

The walking desk - or "vertical workstation"- is fixed to a treadmill
enabling office workers to work while burning calories.

Professor James Levine and Jennifer Miller of the Mayo Clinic, in
Minnesota, who invented the device, say using it for a couple of hours a day could help obese staff shed up to 30kg a year.

They tested the contraption on 15 people with sedentary jobs who never
exercised. The participants set the speed of the treadmill themselves and
carried on working at their computer, which was fixed above on a frame with
adjustable arms. One arm carried the screen and the other the keyboard and
mouse.

On average, the participants burned more than twice as much energy
per hour at the walking desk compared with the normal stationary one. Their
energy expenditure was measured while they walked and worked for 35 minutes out of an hour and compared with the amount of energy used while working seated at
an ordinary desk. There were no falls or injuries and no unsteadiness. The
participants enjoyed using the device.

A key reason why waistlines have expanded over the past 30 years is the
increase in sedentary work. For millions, the hammer and shovel have been replaced by the keyboard and mouse as they spend their days at computer screens.

The desks cost about £1,000 each and slide over a standard treadmill.
By 2010, it is estimated that more than half the workforce of developed
countries will be working at computers. The inventors of the device suggest they could be walking at them too.

And then the treadmills could be hooked up to enormous energy storage devices that would power the whole office! And the fat they lose could be collected and used to power their cars! Like, how totally awesome!

It amazes me how difficult we as a species like to make things. People are getting fatter and fatter? Low fat didn't work? Diabetes, heart disease and other diseases of civilization are on the rise, despite diets full of whole grains? Better invent pills and machines to handle it - easier than, oh, examining our diet and making some changes based on current scientific evidence and, hey, even anthropological evidence. Better make designer frankenfoods, like shakes and bars and low-fat chips - easier than going back to whole, natural foods like meat and vegetables.

Putting desks over treadmills assumes that the office chubsters are just too damn lazy to move their fat asses without being forced. It assumes that fat people in general are overweight because they do nothing but sit around and eat all the time. And it may just be me, but the image of row upon row of office pods staffed with people running in place while staring into a computer is frightening, not to mention a rather ironic statement about our society in general. Is this who we are, chubby little gerbils wasting our days furiously getting nowhere...and not even noticing, because the Powers That Be say we're doing the "Right Thing"?

Of course, no-one's talking about the increase in appetite that comes along with increased exercise/calorie expenditure, or the fact that as a person loses weight, they generally have to increase their level of exercise to continue seeing results. Oh...and that aerobic activity, such as walking, isn't all it's cracked up to be as far as weight loss goes.

Rather than spending money on special desks, why not improve the food served in the office cafeteria? Get rid of the Taco Bell and the Mickey D's, the frozen chicken fingers and fries. Serve actual food, stuff that isn't all grain-based or smothered in breading. Why even put money into sub-par cookies and cakes and pastries? Cafeteria versions aren't that good anyway. Get good quality meats, vegetables, fruits - hell, get good quality cooks, people who know how to make simple food delicious. And make it easier for employees to bring, store and/or prepare foods themselves on site. Have a kitchen. Once a week, have a group lunch where people actually cook and serve food to their co-workers.

Rather than stick treadmills in the office, encourage employees to use the gym...and make sure they have time to use it! In my experience, people would use their lunch hour for the gym and then end up eating lunch at their desk while working; maybe an extra half-hour would be a good incentive, and wouldn't impact all-important company productivity except perhaps to improve it. If there's no on-site gym, team up with a local facility to offer employee discounts on memberships and services like massage and chiropractic.

Maybe, just maybe, if we can make our office environments more authentic and less artificial, the health of the people spending 40+ hours there each week will improve. At the very least, it could be a start.