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New Cubicles Help Employees to Burn Calories While They Work

Guest post by: Carrie Thompson

Article Overview: Dr. James Levine has invented a healthy environment in your office - a cubicle area equipped with a computer, desk and treadmill. According to Levine, you can loose up to 57 pounds each year just by walking slowly on your treadmill at about 1 mph!

New Cubicles Help Employees to Burn Calories While They Work

Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and obesity researcher, has developed an alternative to the traditional office cubicle aimed at enhancing employees’ health. The new type of cubicle incorporates a desk, computer, and treadmill into one unit. Levine, a leading researcher of non-exercise activity thermogenesis-- the calories people burn during everyday activities such as standing, walking or even fidgeting--published a study demonstrating that thin people are on their feet an average of 152 more minutes a day than their heftier counterparts. In response to the study, Levine came up with the“ultimate office makeover” aimed at providing a completely different way of working.

"I hate going to the gym, which may be partly why I'm so interested in this," Levine said. While he works in his office cubicle, Levine keeps up a 1 mph pace on his treadmill, which is slow enough to avoid breaking a sweat, but enough to burn 100 calories an hour, or 1000 calories for his typical 10 hour work day. Levine said that if he maintained his current diet, that level of exercise would result in a weight loss of 50 pounds over the course of one year.

The new type of office cubicle has been used in a Redding, California Blue Shield call center for about a year as part of the company’s Wellvolution program. Employees have the option of a traditional cubicle or one with a treadmill. Wellvolution Director Bryce Williams said that instead of having to find time to go to a gym to exercise, employees can “bring it to the desktop, literally, so you can work out and do your job at the same time."

Tara Nicholson, who works in Blue Shield’s customer service division, was immediately interested in the new type of office cubicle. "The first week was a little adjusting," Nicholson admitted. "You had to learn how to do the whole walk, talk and type thing. But after that it's a breeze. I like it." Although employees currently can sign up for only two days a week, Nicholson hopes that the company will allow employees to use the new cubicles full time.

Researchers at Harvard and the University of California are studying Blue Cross’s program to ascertain whether it produces health benefits for the participating employees. Blue Cross has said that it will share the researchers’ findings with other companies if the new program is found to be beneficial.Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and obesity researcher, has developed an alternative to the traditional office cubicle aimed at enhancing employees' health. The new type of cubicle incorporates a desk, computer, and treadmill into one unit. Levine, a leading researcher of non-exercise activity thermogenesis-- the calories people burn during everyday activities such as standing, walking or even fidgeting--published a study demonstrating that thin people are on their feet an average of 152 more minutes a day than their heftier counterparts. In response to the study, Levine came up with the"ultimate office makeover" aimed at providing a completely different way of working.

"I hate going to the gym, which may be partly why I'm so interested in this," Levine said. While he works in his office cubicle, Levine keeps up a 1 mph pace on his treadmill, which is slow enough to avoid breaking a sweat, but enough to burn 100 calories an hour, or 1000 calories for his typical 10 hour work day. Levine said that if he maintained his current diet, that level of exercise would result in a weight loss of 50 pounds over the course of one year.

The new type of office cubicle has been used in a Redding, California Blue Shield call center for about a year as part of the company's Wellvolution program. Employees have the option of a traditional cubicle or one with a treadmill. Wellvolution Director Bryce Williams said that instead of having to find time to go to a gym to exercise, employees can "bring it to the desktop, literally, so you can work out and do your job at the same time."

Tara Nicholson, who works in Blue Shield's customer service division, was immediately interested in the new type of office cubicle. "The first week was a little adjusting," Nicholson admitted. "You had to learn how to do the whole walk, talk and type thing. But after that it's a breeze. I like it." Although employees currently can sign up for only two days a week, Nicholson hopes that the company will allow employees to use the new cubicles full time.

Researchers at Harvard and the University of California are studying Blue Cross's program to ascertain whether it produces health benefits for the participating employees. Blue Cross has said that it will share the researchers' findings with other companies if the new program is found to be beneficial.

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Article Tags: cubicle treadmill, cubicle treadmill desk, cubicles, office cubicle, treadmill, treadmill desk



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