Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Al Qadsiah hands Al Nassr their first defeat in the Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



More people exercise while they work
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 09 - 2013

WASHINGTON — Glued to your desk at work? Cross that off the list of excuses for not having the time to exercise.
A growing number of people are standing, walking and even cycling their way through the workday at treadmill desks, standup desks or other moving workstations. Others are forgoing chairs in favor of giant exercise balls to stay fit.
Walking on a treadmill while making phone calls and sorting through emails means “being productive on two fronts,” said Andrew Lockerbie, senior vice president of benefits at Brown & Brown, a global insurance consulting firm.
Lockerbie can burn 350 calories a day walking three to four miles on one of two treadmill desks that his company's Indianapolis office purchased earlier this year.
“I'm in meetings and at my desk and on the phone all day,” he said. “It's great to be able to have an option at my work to get some physical activity while I'm actually doing office stuff. You feel better, you get your blood moving, you think clearly.”
Treadmill desks designed for the workplace are normally set to move at 1 to 2 mph, enough to get the heart rate up but not too fast to distract from reading or talking on the phone comfortably.
It's been a decade since scientific studies began to show that too much sitting can lead to obesity and increase the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Even going to the gym three times a week doesn't offset the harm of being sedentary for hours at a time, said Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic.
“There's a glob of information that sitting is killing us,” Levine said. “You're basically sitting yourself into a coffin.”
More companies are intrigued by the idea of helping employees stay healthy, lose weight and reduce stress — especially if it means lower insurance costs and higher productivity, said Levine, an enthusiastic supporter of the moving workstations.
“Even walking at 1 mile an hour has very substantial benefits,” Levine said, such as doubling metabolic rate and improving blood sugar levels. “Although you don't sweat, your body moving is sort of purring along.”
Sales at Indianapolis-based TreadDesk are expected to increase 25 percent this year as large corporations, including Microsoft, Coca Cola, United Healthcare and Procter & Gamble have started buying the workstations in bulk, said Jerry Carr, the company's president.
At LifeSpan Fitness, based in Salt Lake City, sales of treadmill desks more than tripled over 2012, said Peter Schenk, company president.
“We don't see the growth slowing down for several years as right now we are just moving from early adopters, which are educated and highly health conscious, to more mainstream users,” Schenk said.
With bicycle desks or desk cycles, workers can pedal their way through the day on a small stationary bike mounted under their desk.
Treadmill desks can range from about $800 to $5,000 or more, depending on the manufacturer and model. Desks cycles start as low as $149 for models that can fit under an existing desk but can run $1,400 or more for those with a desk built in. Standup desks can run as low as $250 for platforms that can rest on an existing desk.
Some workers have opted for lower-profile — and lower-cost — ways to stay fit at work, such as sitting on giant exercise balls instead of chairs. Using the inflatable balls can help improve posture and strengthen abs, legs and back muscles.
“I've got nurses in my operating room who will use one of those balls instead of a chair,” said Michael Maloney, a professor of orthopedics and sports medicine specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Maloney said anyone trying an exercise ball, treadmill desk or moving workstation should approach it with common sense. Those who have not been exercising regularly should start using the equipment in small time increments to avoid injury, he said.
“They have to just do it with some common sense and not overdo it,” Maloney said. “Just pay attention to how their body is responding to the new activities.”
Georges Harik, founder of the Web-based instant messaging service imo.im in Palo Alto, California, bought two treadmill desks for his 20-person office to share three years ago. Employees tend to sort through email or do other work while using the treadmills.
“I do it when I can,” he said. “Sometimes it's not possible if you're really thinking hard or programming a lot. But this sort of low-grade activity that keeps people from being sedentary probably helps extend their lives by a few years, and we're big fans of that.”
The office has also purchased standing desks for most of its employees. The desks can be raised up or down with the touch of a button, and Harik says at least three or four workers can be seen standing at desks to stretch their legs at any one time.
But not everyone wants one, Harik said. Some workers find it too distracting to incorporate standing or walking into their work, and some feel they are just not coordinated enough to multitask as they exercise.
Levine said he was at first skeptical that a standup desk would offer improvements in health comparable to treadmill desks or other moving workstations.
“It appears I was completely wrong,” he said. “Once you're off your bottom, it's inevitable that you start meandering around. Within two minutes of standing, one activates a series of metabolic processes that are beneficial. Once you sit, all of those things get switched off.”
Denise Bober, director of human resources at The Breakers, the resort hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, said having a treadmill desk in her office has made a big difference in how she feels after work.
“The more movement and interaction I have, the more energy I have at the end of the day,” she said.
Bober spends one to three hours walking when she's in the office, usually at 2 mph.
“If I go faster, then I make too many typing errors, but if I'm just reading a report I can go faster,” she said. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.