Can fidgeting help with weight loss?
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Dr. Mehmet Oz answered:While fidgeting may drive your coworkers and family crazy, drumming your fingers or tapping your feet is a great way to burn calories. Scientists have discovered that “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” can burn 100 calories a day. That’s a fancy way of referring to bouncing your legs while you sit, pacing when you’re on the phone, and so on. All of which adds up to over 10 lost pounds a year!While fidgeting may drive your coworkers and family crazy, drumming your fingers or tapping your feet is a great way to burn calories. Scientists have discovered that “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” can burn 100 calories a day.... More -
Dr. Edward Phillips answered:Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—that is, ordinary movements that might not normally count as exercise, like fidgeting, walking to the corner store, going upstairs to retrieve your wallet, or even just standing for periods of time—may be one factor that helps separate the lean from the plump. One study that measured NEAT in lean and obese people, all of whom were sedentary and had similar jobs, noted a key difference between the two groups. The obese people sat an average of two-and-a-half hours more per day than their lean counterparts. The lean people stood or walked more than two hours longer each day than their obese counterparts.Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—that is, ordinary movements that might not normally count as exercise, like fidgeting, walking to the corner store, going upstairs to retrieve your wallet, or even just standing for periods of... More -
RealAge answered:Tapping your foot could help keep the extra calories from expanding your waist. It may sound silly. But check out the numbers: Whether they were leg bouncers, toe tappers, or thumb twiddlers, people in a study who had a habit of fidgeting burned, on average, nearly 350 extra calories per day!
It's true: Fidgeters are more likely to stave off weight gain from extra calories. (This might also explain why so few 6-year-olds have a weight problem!) One truly fidget-prone person in the study burned a whopping 700 extra calories per day.
You don't have to tap your toes to get the job done. Doing just about anything besides sitting still counts—maintaining your posture, turning pages, or regularly lifting a glass of water to your lips—but the more active you are, the better.Tapping your foot could help keep the extra calories from expanding your waist. It may sound silly. But check out the numbers: Whether they were leg bouncers, toe tappers, or thumb twiddlers, people in a study who had a habit of fidgeting... More
