DES MOINES, Iowa -- A school is attempting to fight childhood obesity with a concept called NEAT living.

The Minnesota school isn't using chairs in its classroom, Des Moines television station KCCI reported. The idea is part of a program called Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, which involves burning calories in every day living and activities.

"What we're all aware of is that we're all living in chairs, and so NEAT living is actually very, very simple. It's chairless living," said Dr. James Levine, of NEAT Living.

Levine was in Ames on Tuesday for a Iowa Department of Public Health conference. He talked about the NEAT concept.

Unlike a traditional classroom where children spend most of the day sitting behind a desk, children are up moving around.

It might sound like a chaotic environment, but Levine said it improves the learning experience.

"Children appear to become incredibly focused on their lessons. It's almost as if you let them get all the anxiety out of their bodies, now they're ready to learn," Levine said.

Levine said that you can apply the same concept to the workplace. He said instead of spending eight hours at a computer, alter the workspace so you can stand.

"If you spend eight hours a day on your bottom, you will burn about 50 to 60 calories for the whole day spent on your bottom. If, on the other hand, you walk literally at 1 mph, which I call shopping speed, it's very, very slow, you can burn an extra 100 calories an hour," he said.

On an average day, that's an extra 800 calories someone can be burn just by sitting less and walking around more at work or in the classroom.

Levine said people should not throw their exercise routine out the window, but he said that for a large majority of people who don't regularly work out the program is a way to burn more calories throughout the day.

Web link
Mayo Research NEAT Program