Training is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle. But how much you move outside your workouts has a huge impact on your health, energy levels and how you feel day to day. That’s why we want to draw your attention to non-exercise movement – what scientific research calls NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).
Training remains a fundamental and irreplaceable part of building fitness, strength and metabolic health. At the same time, training regularly doesn’t automatically mean you lead an active life when it comes to your movement across the whole day. If, apart from a hard training session, you spend most of the day sitting down, your body still goes through long periods of inactivity whose negative effects can’t be offset even by a high volume or intensity of training. This is exactly where NEAT plays a key role, complementing the base that training provides.
What is NEAT?
NEAT is all the physical activity that isn’t planned training or deliberate exercise. It’s all the everyday movement, such as walking the dog, taking the stairs, cleaning, or standing instead of sitting at your desk or in front of the TV.
Although each of these activities seems insignificant on its own, over a day and a week they have a real impact on your body.
Why is NEAT so important?
Research shows that NEAT can make up a very large part of your total daily energy expenditure. It’s often differences in everyday movement that explain why people with a similar diet and a similar amount of training function so differently.
Regular low-intensity movement:
- supports blood circulation,
- reduces stiffness after long periods of sitting,
- helps keep your energy levels stable,
- supports metabolic health.
NEAT also has a protective effect, partly balancing out the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
How much energy can movement outside training burn?
Research by James Levine and colleagues shows that differences in spontaneous activity can amount to several hundred, or even more than 1,000 kcal a day.
For example, 7,000–10,000 steps a day is on average around 300–500 kcal (depending on body weight), and a few hours of standing instead of sitting can increase energy expenditure by 100–200 kcal. All of this happens without any extra training sessions and without overloading your body – and over a week it adds up to a noticeably higher energy expenditure.
Everyday movement and metabolic health
Moving regularly throughout the day isn’t only about burning more energy. Everyday movement improves insulin sensitivity, supports blood glucose regulation, lowers the risk of metabolic disease and helps you feel better.
Importantly, even short movement breaks during the day can bring real benefits, especially for people who spend most of the day sitting.
PS – We’re talking about everyday, natural movement, not clocking up the kilometres running 😉
References
- Levine JA. Nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2002. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/75.5.775
- Levine JA et al. Role of nonexercise activity thermogenesis in resistance to fat gain in humans. Science, 1999. DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5399.212
- Levine JA. Interindividual variation in posture allocation: possible role in human obesity. Science, 2005. DOI: 10.1126/science.1116678
- Hamilton MT, Hamilton DG, Zderic TW. Sedentary behavior as a mediator of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes, 2007. DOI: 10.2337/db07-0882
- Ekelund U et al. Does physical activity attenuate the association between sitting time and mortality? The Lancet, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30370-1
- Dunstan DW et al. Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses. Diabetes Care, 2012. DOI: 10.2337/dc11-1931
