La Voz

When I say that I exercise at work, I mean that I take a physical education class here at De Anza College , my place of employment.

I recently heard a story on the radio about a man who also exercises at work, but he literally exercises while working. His computer, keyboard and phone are all placed on a treadmill.

The pace of the treadmill is set at slightly less than one mile an hour which is slow enough for him to work on the computer and talk on the telephone, the two activities he does most often when he's in his office, but fast enough to burn calories.

He reported that he'd been at his new desk for about a month and had already lost weight. This man's new "exer-desk" was inspired by the NEAT work of Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic.

NEAT is an acronym for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT is the amount of the energy you expend during the day doing everything except sleeping, eating, and exercising. It is stuff like walking to your car, walking between classes, fidgeting in your chair, driving your car, feeding the dog and working on your computer.

The total energy we expend (or burn) falls into one of three categories: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Thermal Effect of Food (TEF) and Thermogenesis.

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