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Anya and Rahul are part of the same marketing team at a startup. Extended office hours and a lengthy commute meant that both of them end up sitting for more than 12 hours every day!

“I’m trying to lose weight, but I barely get time during the week. Weekends are the only time I can properly hit the gym, you know?” Rahul tells her as they both sit for lunch one afternoon.

“I understand. I’m in the same boat. Sitting so much, I’ve even got varicose veins on my legs!” She grumbled.

“You know, Anuja from Sales was telling me about this new thing she had been using to stay active in the office. Something called NEAT?” Rahul remembered.

“Let’s go ask her? Maybe she can help you find a way to get fitter faster?” Anya suggested.

Grabbing their food, they set out to find Anuja who was standing at a nearby table and having her meal with her colleague.

“Hi Anuja, do you have a moment? I was telling Anya about the thing you mentioned the other day, NEAT? Can you tell us more about it?”

“Yes, maybe we could all grab a table and talk about it?” Anya suggested.

“Oh no, I prefer to have my lunch standing up. It’s part of NEAT — Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. It refers to all the non-workout type activities we do throughout the day — walking here and there, getting up and down, and so on. I try to sit as little as possible throughout the day since I spend a considerable number of hours seated for work already.”

“Wow, really? How does that help?” Rahul questioned.

“Well, it prevents the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle — early death, increased heart disease risk, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and more. Not only that, but it also helps you lose weight faster!”

“Wait, even varicose veins? Standing up and walking around from time to time will help me with them?” Anya was surprised.

“Yes! They occur due to poor blood flow. NEAT can burn an additional 350 calories per day while improving your blood flow!” informed Anuja. “In fact, I even have an activity tracker — I’ve set alarms on my phone to help me get up from my desk and walk around for 4-5 minutes every hour. Walking intermittently throughout the day is the best way to prevent blood clots and varicose veins!”

“That’s amazing! I think we’re going to increase our NEAT too!” Rahul was very excited at the prospect of increasing his fitness and maintaining healthy body weight at the same time.

“You’re going to see us talking our calls and finishing up smaller tasks on intermittent walks across the workday now,” Anuja laughed.

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For those who can’t leave their desks or increase their NEAT throughout the day, devices like the SitWalker are beneficial. The SitWalker uses the same muscles used for walking, thus improving blood flow, reducing the probability of blood clots, helping varicose veins, and increasing overall NEAT throughout the day through a form of physical activity when seated.