A NEAT legacy: the Double Decker Study.
One of the most important fitness studies in history ostensibly didn't pertain to exercise at all. At least not intentional exercise.
In 1949, a British epidemiologist named Jeremy Morris, operating on a hunch, conducted a study that would revolutionize the way we view movement. He studied the coronary heart disease (CHD) rates of hundreds of drivers and conductors on London's fabled double-decker buses and made a startling discovery: the drivers — who remained sedentary for almost the entirety of their shift — were twice as likely to have CHD as the conductors, who climbed between 500-700 stairs per shift. (1)
There was also a significant catch: although the waist sizes of the conductors were smaller than the drivers on average, heart disease risk was not predicated on weight, but on movement. Thus, even a portly conductor was much less at risk than a driver of a similar build who remained sedentary throughout the day. (1) (2)
Morris later conducted surveys of postal workers that yielded similar results. The postal workers that delivered mail via walking or cycling were much less prone to CHD than their counterparts that had sedentary office jobs. (2)
The studies have remained hugely influential nearly a century after first being published. They also highlighted an important fact that pertains to many people: incidental movement can be a crucial ingredient in fitness.
I don't mean to downplay the role of cycling, running, and strength training in warding off cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks. There's ample evidence of that. (Dr Morris's study is widely credited for laying the groundwork for the many exercise-based studies that followed his work in 1949.) But many people just can't muster up the energy, willpower, or time to go on a hike or hit the gym. Is there an alternative?
Yes, there is. It's called NEAT or "nonexercise activity thermogenesis." That's a very technical term for movement that is done as part of a daily routine, but not considered "exercise." Examples would be cleaning the dishes, tidying up the garage, taking the stairs, or standing much more frequently while at work.
According to Dr. James Levine, the MAYO Clinic researcher who first coined the term, NEAT can result in an extra 2,000 calories burned per day, depending on the body weight of the person in question and the type of activity. (3) (4)
I can offer my own experiences to validate the NEAT hypothesis. My overall fitness (functional strength/cardio/flexibility/balance) was at its peak when I trained people at a gym. My daily routine consisted of throwing medicine balls, lifting weights, pulling ropes, tossing footballs, demonstrating exercises etc. The movement was all incidental — meaning it was no different than the conductor taking tickets on a double-decker bus. It was just part of my job. Although my intentional exercise (mostly cycling) was higher post-pandemic because of less time constraints, my strength and flexibility were never better than they were when I worked at a gym and was engaged in constant low-grade movement.
Now that I'm training remotely and blogging consistently my overall fitness has taken a bit of a hit. I have to be very vigilant about sitting too frequently. I've written about "exercise snacking" previously in another blog post. Read it here: https://beneath-the-skin.ghost.io/the-perfect-exercise-snack-heres-a-hint-its-not-chewable-2/ But when the writing fairy visits with her magic pixel dust, body weight squats sometimes become an afterthought.
On a similar note, there have been several studies that show how many calories are burned doing various household activities. Keep in mind that caloric expenditure is just one metric of fitness. The studies don't reveal how the activities help with metrics such as flexibility, functional strength, or mental well-being. Here are just a few examples: (5)
Channel your inner "Karate Kid" and wash the car.
Hand-washing a car burns 135 calories in 30 minutes if you weigh 125 pounds and 200 calories if you weigh 185 pounds.
Dirty dish patrolling.
Thirty minutes of cleaning dirty dishes results in 187 calories burned if you weigh 125 pounds and 300 calories if you 185 pounds.
Get your fingernails dirty.
Thirty minutes of digging, planting, and pulling weeds burns 139 calories for a 125 pound person and 205 calories for a 200 pound person. (*I actually think this underestimates by a long shot the amount of calories burned when gardening.)
Flip some linen.
Changing linen for 30 minutes burns 187 calories if you weigh 125 pounds and 300 calories if you weigh 200 pounds.
The bottom line: if you're struggling with fitness, concentrate on "movement" instead. Find smaller tasks that are more ingrained in your daily life, and focus on performing them more regularly. That's a great way to rev up your fitness without the mental drudgery and guilt often associated with "exercising."
Any questions? Feel free to drop me a line! joshua@joshuabrandtpt.com
Sources:
(1) Morris, J.N., Heady, J.A., Raffle, P.A.B., Roberts, C.G., and Parks, J.W., 1953. Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work." Lancet 265, 1111-1120.
(2) Morris, J.N., Heady, J.A., Raffle, P.A.B., Roberts, C.G., and Parks, J.W., 1953. Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work. Lancet 265, 1053-1057.
(3) James Levine (12/16/2002) "Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)" Pubmed.
(4) Pedro A. Villablanca, MD, MSca pvillabl@montefiore.org ∙ Jorge R. Alegria, MDb ∙ Farouk Mookadam, MBChB, MScc ∙ David R. Holmes, Jr., MDe ∙ R. Scott Wright, MDe ∙ James A. Levine, MD, PhDd^ (April 2015) "Nonexercise Activity Thermogenesis in Obesity Management." Mayo Clinic Volume 9 Issue 4
(5) Written by Susan Bernstein and medically reviewed by Zilpah Sheikh MD. (09/29/2023) "Calories Burned by Household Chores." WebMD
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