Office of the future boosts weight loss

Washington, Aug 2 : The office of the future is not only fully functional, it also boosts weight loss and maintains health.

Endocrinologist James Levin conceived and innovated the office and then studied the effects of his re-engineering to increase daily physical activity or non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).

The study, which began in late 2007 and ended in 2008, involved 45 employees at a Minneapolis-based financial staffing firm. Eighteen were studied for weight loss and other changes. Re-engineering included removal of chairs and traditional desk seating, introducing walking tracks, educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings.

It also included replacing traditional phones with mobile sets and adding desks attached to treadmills, introducing games in the workplace, providing high-tech activity monitors, besides advising staff about nutrition.

The 18 individuals lost a total of 71 kg, 65 of that in body fat. Each one of them lost an average of 4 kg - 90 percent of that was fat. Triglycerides decreased by an average of 37 percent. The nine participants who had expressed a desire to lose weight lost an average of 7 kg.

Another key finding - no productivity was lost due to the new environment. In fact, company officials say revenue rose nearly 10 percent during the first three months of the study, and the company recorded its highest-ever monthly revenue in January 2008 - the study's midpoint.

--IANS