Office walkouts get new meaning

ROCHESTER, Minn., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Office workers should be doing computer work and having meetings while walking slowly on treadmills, a Mayo Clinic doctor in Rochester, Minn., said.

Dr. James Levine, a physician and professor of nutrition applied his theory to his own office and says he lost 15 pounds in the last year by getting out of his chair and doing many of his chores while walking at slow speed.

He told The Washington Post it's part of the concept of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or NEAT, used to slowly burn calories that would otherwise turn into fat in someone sitting for hours at a time.

He said no one would really break a sweat, as it's impossible to read a computer monitor with a bobbing head or talk effectively on the phone while walking briskly.

Levine's research indicates walking at 1 mph burns about 100 calories per hour. As far as cost, it runs to about $1,600 -- about the same as a standard cubicle's furniture, although he said he assembled a home version for less than $100.

"There's no need to hold a meeting in a chair," he said.