Frequent fidgeting leads to fitter figureStudy on why some are lean or obeseEvery little move makes a difference
ELAINE CAREY
MEDICAL REPORTER
That guy tapping his pencil on the desk all day may be on to something.
In fact, fidgeting, toe-tapping, wiggling and walking around are more powerful than formal exercise in determining who is lean and who is obese, researchers at the Mayo Clinic reported yesterday in the journal Science.
While their previous research found that even small things like finger drumming help keep you trim, they now have shown that your NEAT or "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" may be pre-programmed in your genes or learned at an early age.
Fat people seem to have a biological need to sit more.
They don't sit more because they're fat, said Dr. James Levine, the Mayo Clinic endocrinologist who led the research.
In a study, 20 research subjects — 10 lean and 10 obese — were fitted with custom-made, data-logging underwear they wore 24 hours a day for 10 days to measure their every movement.
The technology was first used in fighter jet control panels and could detect even the smallest tap of the toe.
The subjects went about their normal routines, except they could only have food eaten and prepared at the clinic. They had to eat every last scrap on their plates, then scrape them with a rubber spatula to make sure they ate every calorie.
To make sure they didn't cheat, the subjects periodically downed a glass of treated water that tested their metabolism. Every morning at breakfast, they were issued new underwear and the team downloaded and analyzed a total of 150 million lines of data from the old underwear.
While it might appear "slightly bizarre," the underwear gave them "a window into people's activity life that no one's ever had before," Levine said.
They found the obese people sat for about 2.5 hours longer a day than the lean people, which translates into an extra 350 calories that could lead these "extreme couch potatoes" to pack on an extra 17 pounds a year.
That shows "the calories people burn in their everyday activities — their NEAT — are far more important in obesity than we previously imagined," Levine said.
The team then fed the lean people an extra 1,000 calories a day and cut 1,000 calories from the diets of the obese people for eight weeks.
The fat subjects lost an average of 17.6 pounds and the lean ones gained an average 8.8 pounds — but their behaviour didn't change. The fatter people still sat more and moved less and the leaner group still walked and fidgeted more.
The NEAT for both groups wasn't affected by calories.The NEAT defect in obese people doesn't mean they lack motivation, "but most likely reflects a brain chemical difference," Levine said. "The NEAT appears to be fixed."
That doesn't mean there's nothing people can do about it, he said. Physicians can use the information to encourage more "NEAT seeking behaviours" in their obese patients, urging them to move around more as well as controlling their diet.
Obesity levels in Canada more than doubled between 1985 and 1998 from 5.6 per cent to 14.8 per cent of the population or 3.3 million obese people.
The direct medical costs from it are estimated at more than $2 billion a year.
David Jenkins, a world-renowned nutritionist at the University of Toronto, said there's a lot to be said for the fidgeting philosophy.
"Your granny probably told you to sit still, don't fidget," he said.
"We've managed not only to have appliances that help us do less work, we've now actually made it socially unacceptable to do things that might expend energy.
"You don't like someone who's constantly tapping their pencil in front of you," he said.
"We should be encouraging that fidgeting and toe-tapping and moving around."
A study at U of T about 15 years ago found that when children first start school, their exercise level falls dramatically, he said. "They literally become unfit."
The trouble is, the more people move around, the less we think they're paying attention, he said. "But they may be just expending energy."
Thomas Wolever, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at U of T, said the research shows "every little thing you can do to increase your physical activity helps.
In fact, fidgeting, toe-tapping, wiggling and walking around are more powerful than formal exercise in determining who is lean and who is obese, researchers at the Mayo Clinic reported yesterday in the journal Science.
While their previous research found that even small things like finger drumming help keep you trim, they now have shown that your NEAT or "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" may be pre-programmed in your genes or learned at an early age.
Fat people seem to have a biological need to sit more.
They don't sit more because they're fat, said Dr. James Levine, the Mayo Clinic endocrinologist who led the research.
In a study, 20 research subjects — 10 lean and 10 obese — were fitted with custom-made, data-logging underwear they wore 24 hours a day for 10 days to measure their every movement.
The technology was first used in fighter jet control panels and could detect even the smallest tap of the toe.
The subjects went about their normal routines, except they could only have food eaten and prepared at the clinic. They had to eat every last scrap on their plates, then scrape them with a rubber spatula to make sure they ate every calorie.
To make sure they didn't cheat, the subjects periodically downed a glass of treated water that tested their metabolism. Every morning at breakfast, they were issued new underwear and the team downloaded and analyzed a total of 150 million lines of data from the old underwear.
While it might appear "slightly bizarre," the underwear gave them "a window into people's activity life that no one's ever had before," Levine said.
They found the obese people sat for about 2.5 hours longer a day than the lean people, which translates into an extra 350 calories that could lead these "extreme couch potatoes" to pack on an extra 17 pounds a year.
That shows "the calories people burn in their everyday activities — their NEAT — are far more important in obesity than we previously imagined," Levine said.
The team then fed the lean people an extra 1,000 calories a day and cut 1,000 calories from the diets of the obese people for eight weeks.
The fat subjects lost an average of 17.6 pounds and the lean ones gained an average 8.8 pounds — but their behaviour didn't change. The fatter people still sat more and moved less and the leaner group still walked and fidgeted more.
The NEAT for both groups wasn't affected by calories.The NEAT defect in obese people doesn't mean they lack motivation, "but most likely reflects a brain chemical difference," Levine said. "The NEAT appears to be fixed."
That doesn't mean there's nothing people can do about it, he said. Physicians can use the information to encourage more "NEAT seeking behaviours" in their obese patients, urging them to move around more as well as controlling their diet.
Obesity levels in Canada more than doubled between 1985 and 1998 from 5.6 per cent to 14.8 per cent of the population or 3.3 million obese people.
The direct medical costs from it are estimated at more than $2 billion a year.
David Jenkins, a world-renowned nutritionist at the University of Toronto, said there's a lot to be said for the fidgeting philosophy.
"Your granny probably told you to sit still, don't fidget," he said.
"We've managed not only to have appliances that help us do less work, we've now actually made it socially unacceptable to do things that might expend energy.
"You don't like someone who's constantly tapping their pencil in front of you," he said.
"We should be encouraging that fidgeting and toe-tapping and moving around."
A study at U of T about 15 years ago found that when children first start school, their exercise level falls dramatically, he said. "They literally become unfit."
The trouble is, the more people move around, the less we think they're paying attention, he said. "But they may be just expending energy."
Thomas Wolever, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at U of T, said the research shows "every little thing you can do to increase your physical activity helps.
1 comment:
By the way, I'm buying everyone data-logging underwear for their birthdays this year! Do you think it's machine washable?
Actually, I thought it was really funny that they gave out a rubber spatula to scrape the plate with. They are prepared to ask these people to wear data-logging underwear, but they couldn't possibly just tell them to lick the plate, that would just be going too far!
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