Even the most basic walking pad costs significant money, and you'll need a standing desk, too.(Unsplash: The Standing Desk)
Recent surveysestimatemore than 6.7 million Australians — almost half of all workers, and the majority in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra — work from home at least some of the time in paid or unpaid roles.
With that increase in working from home, it's easy to spend too long sitting, which is now recognised asbad for our health. Many of us now know what it feels like to sit at a computer all day, then once finished with work, simply transfer across to the living room couch.
When we have to physically go into our workplace, it's easier to get incidental activity: from leaving the house, to walking and standing in an active commute, walking to talk to a colleague, going out to get lunch and more.
With many Australiansnot reaching physical activity guidelines, could we be strategically using an under-desk treadmill or walking pad to walk while we work?
How much and how often do you need to walk?
The benefits of walking are nowwidely substantiated. For instance, studies that have got people to increase their weekly walking have made profound and consistent benefits to health outcomes, such asimproving blood pressure and glucose tolerance.
Recent evidence has converged on7,000 steps being a targetfor daily steps when considering the prevention of many diseases.
The World Health Organization has also revised its recommendations from previously saying physical activity must be done in at least 10-minute bouts toevery move counts, regardless of duration.
Recent experimentsback this up,findingthat short, frequent walking or squatting breaks to avoid prolonged sitting can actually have better health outcomes than one bout of walking.
So walking for our health does not need to be performed in a structured and routine way. It can simply be accrued throughout the day withincidental activityand regular walking breaks.
Together, this evidence suggests that a treadmill at your desk — encouraging regular walking breaks interspersed throughout the day, when you would otherwise be just sitting — would likely be beneficial.
What studies have been done on treadmill desks?
Though there are only a handful of specific studies on the health impacts of office workers using a treadmill desk, they have mostly shown to be beneficial.
Those studies havefoundthat a treadmill desk or walking pad results in changes in fat loss, improving cholesterol, blood pressure and metabolism, with some benefits longer term. But different investigations into their use revealed different results:
One study found that sedentary office workers increased theirsteps between1,600and4,500steps per day (with thegreatest weight loss among people with obesity), compared to people whoweren't provided a treadmill.
Asmall studyof overweight and obese physiciansfound they did manage to make using a treadmill work, ending up with 1.9per cent lower body fat while using the treadmill desk.
Another found it led to an increase of 43 minutes of lightwalking, though workers still reported finding it hard to meet a demandingwork schedule to fit that in.
In other words, your mileage may vary! But while these changes may sound small, they are still likely to improve your health, especially when adopted long-term.
Is it too tricky to type?
But how feasible is adding treadmill desks into our workplaces, either at home or in an office?
People may be concerned about the ability to direct attention to walking simultaneously with performing computer-based work.
Interestingly,one study foundthere was no significant impact on cognitive abilities between those sitting versus walking at their own pace on a treadmill.
However, walking and cycling desks can impair typing and, particularly, moving amouse precisely. That makes a treadmill desk less suitable for mouse-intensive work.
For those who find it hard to type accurately while walking, voice-to-text typing options may be worth a try. Some are built into computer operating systems, such as inAppleorChromebookcomputers.
Try this before you buy
All things considered, treadmill desks are likely to provide a significant contribution to health through changes to physical activity and sedentary behaviours, without much downside.
For some, adding a treadmill desk to your work environment may be the motivator and visual reminder you need to take regular walking breaks — especially if you're really short on time or do work thatmakes it hard to leaveyour desk.
But even the most basic walking pad costs money. You're looking at around $180-200 for entry-level walking pads, through to $1,000 or more if you want a better treadmill you can also run on. You may also need to invest in a standing desk to be able to work properly.
So before you invest in a whole new desk set-up, it's worth asking: would it be easier and cheaper to simply try regularly walking away from your desk?
Even small changes in physical activity can make a real difference — especially for those who are very sedentary in their work and home life.
