Pedal in private to combat sedentariness

It’s not news that sitting at a desk all day isn’t good for your health. But what if you’re could move all day, without actually leaving your desk?

This was the situation that researchers from the University of Iowa engineered and implemented into workplaces. Lucas Carr, a member of the Obesity Research and Education Initiative at the university, said that there were surprising catches to the efficacy of the program. The study appears in this month’s edition of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

While the reported weight loss, improved concentration and fewer sick days were expected effects of a more active workday, researchers were interested in the finding that privacy was an essential component for success. Placing an exercise bike of treadmill desk in a hallway or public place and very few workers would utilize it, whereas when the machine was the individual’s own one to pedal, it got more use.

This study’s findings could possibly lead to a reevaluation of how company’s typically encourage employee health. Implementing a gym space in an office may only benefit those employees that are already actively scheduling exercise as part of their day.

At the end of the study, 70 per cent of those who participated in the study opted to keep their pedaling device to use at work.