The Next "Must Have"

For the man who has everything, and wants to lose a few pounds of it - the treadmill desk:

In his office he has a treadmill in place of a desk. He got it last year when he saw the data from the study comparing lean people and obese ones.

"My computer is stationed over the treadmill," he said. "I work at 0.7 miles an hour."

A stand-up desk might seem simpler, but he prefers the treadmill.

"Standing still is quite difficult," he said. "You have a natural tendency to want to move your legs. Zero point seven is the key. You don't get sweaty, you can't jiggle too much. It's about one step a second. It's very comfortable. Most people seem to like it around 0.7."

He has installed a second treadmill alongside his own, and he encourages visitors to hop on and stroll while they talk to him. It takes some getting used to, but, he says, envious colleagues at Mayo have been clamoring for treadmill desks.

"Walking at work, first of all it's addictive," he said. "It's terribly good fun. I actually feel happier, particularly in the afternoon. You might think you come home exhausted, but you don't. You come home energized."

For him, the treadmill has eliminated the afternoon slump, when a lot of people feel sleepy and crave candy bars or caffeine.

"I've become convinced we really can generate an office environment where people are on the move and are happier," he said.

And here is a huge market opportunity!

Comments

[richard mcenroe]

Didn't this used to be a New Yorker cartoon? Why not just substitute a giant hamster wheel and make a statement?

[Attila (Pillage Idiot)]

You laugh, but my wife says I should get one, and I'm at about normal weight.

[Jor]

There was actually a study in Science or Nature (i.e. the pre-eminent science journals) where someone measured (w/special clothes) like "fidgeting" by obese people and skinny people. They controlled for exercise habits and food intake. It appears, that skinny people burned 300-400 calories by just doing extra little movements ever day. Workaholicism and laziness are as American as apple pie. This seems amusing to me.

It seems like the same suits could be used to test whether this increase total physical activity, or whether people will just automatically compensate by being lazier at home.

[Jor]

Ok, heh, I obviously should have RTFA before I made my comment. This is the exact same stuff I was talking about, I guess it makese sense that the same people are doing it. They got the know how.

[Synova]

Standing is much MUCH harder than walking.

[Creech]

Watch for an upswing in Workers Comp claims (I sprained
my hammy working at my "desk.") and Personal Injury claims when the tipsy visiting banker/client/whatever falls on his or her head while trying to keep up.