Background/Purpose: Nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything that is not sleeping, eating or exercise. Subtle changes in NEAT induce important changes in energy balance that have been shown to significantly reduce obesity. The physiology of NEAT has received substantial attention in the literature, however, the effects of gender on NEAT warrants investigation.
Method: Men (n = 13) and women (n= 22) participants (M age= 19.16 years, SD= 1.25) were assigned to three, 20 minute testing sessions: 1) resting supine, 2) typing while seated at a desk, and 3) typing while walking at a WalkstationŽ at two miles per hour. The WalkstationŽ consists of a treadmill attached to an adjustable desk. Metabolic data were measured using a TrueOne 2400 Metabolic Measurement System and energy expenditure in kcals was calculated based on the amount of oxygen consumed during each testing session.
Analysis/Results: A 2 (gender) x 2 (session) repeated measures ANCOVA with resting metabolic expenditure as a covariant yielded a significant effect for session (p< .001), gender (p< .001), and a significant condition by session interaction (p= .022). Adjusting for the covariant, the mean increase in energy expenditure for sitting/typing over walking/typing was 40.52 kcal/h and women expended significantly less kcal/h than did men sitting/typing (26.05 vs. 32.20) and walking/typing (61.55 vs. 77.75).
Conclusions: The results provide support that typing at a WalkstationŽ can significantly increase caloric expenditure over typing at a traditional desk and that gender may impact NEAT.
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