The dangers of prolonged sitting have become increasingly apparent, prompting many to seek alternative ways to stay active while working. Walking desks, including treadmill desks and walking pads, have emerged as potential solutions, promising to integrate physical activity into the workday. But do these devices truly contribute to weight loss, and are they worth the investment? This article explores the benefits of walking desks, focusing on their impact on weight loss and overall well-being.
Understanding Walking Desks
A walking desk typically consists of a treadmill or walking pad combined with a standing desk, allowing users to walk at a slow pace while performing desk work. Walking pads are essentially the base part of a treadmill, a treadmill belt on rollers that you can fit under your desk. You can think of it as a stripped-down treadmill - fewer bells and whistles and a lower price point. Walking pads are like a miniature treadmill that takes away the fancy features that you see on treadmills at commercial gyms and downsizes it into a 30-to-50-pound device that you can move around freely. Walking pads can be easily toted around, so, you can pull it out when it’s walking time and stow it away when you need to do some seated work. Unlike treadmills, they don’t have rails (that can double as clothes hangers). Most don’t have adjustable inclines to increase the intensity and they don’t have interactive electronic displays to monitor your heart rate or watch TV, just the bare bones. Walking pads typically range between $100 and $200. Fancier versions can set you back closer to $400. And to make it work, you’ll need a standing desk, likely one that adjusts to also be useful for seated work between walking sessions. That might cost another $100 or more.
The Calorie Burning Potential
A common assumption is that standing, let alone walking, at a desk burns significantly more calories than sitting. However, research suggests that the energy expenditure difference may not be as substantial as one might think. A study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that using a standing desk for three hours burns only an extra 24 calories, roughly equivalent to the calories in a carrot.
Nevertheless, any increase in calorie expenditure can contribute to weight loss over time. Even at a slower pace, you’re still burning calories. If you’re walking 30 minutes, you can expect to burn about 100 to 260 calories, depending on your body weight. The key is consistency and duration. John Schuna, an assistant professor of exercise and sports science at Oregon State University, suggests that longer or more frequent walking sessions may lead to noticeable weight loss.
Studies on Walking Desks and Weight Loss
The effectiveness of walking desks for weight loss has been explored in several studies, with varying results.
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Small-Scale Studies: Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, conducted a small study where participants using treadmill desks increased their daily activity and lost weight over a 12-month period. Another study at Salo, a finance, accounting, and human resources staffing company, involved participants rotating on and off treadmill desks for six months, walking an average of three hours a day. The study found that everyone lost weight, and there were additional health benefits, such as lower cholesterol and triglycerides.
Larger Studies: A more recent study involving 41 overweight and obese individuals examined the impact of treadmill desks on activity levels. Participants were asked to walk on the treadmills twice a day for 45 minutes at a leisurely pace. However, they only averaged one 45-minute session per day, and their pace was too slow to burn enough calories for significant weight loss.
Sedentary Time Reduction: Access to treadmill desks was associated with significant decreases in daily sedentary time (zero activity) from at baseline 1,020 ± 75 min/day to, at 6 months, 929 ± 84 min/day (P < 0.001), and at 12 months, 978 ± 95 min/day (P < 0.001). For the whole group, weight loss averaged 1.4 ± 3.3 kg (P < 0.05). Weight loss for obese subjects was 2.3 ± 3.5 kg (P < 0.03). Access to the treadmill desks was associated with increased daily physical activity compared to traditional chair-based desks; their deployment was not associated with altered performance. For the 36 participants, fat mass did not change significantly, however, those who lost weight (n = 22) lost 3.4 ± 5.4 kg (P < 0.001) of fat mass.
These studies suggest that while walking desks can contribute to weight loss, the extent of the benefit depends on factors such as the duration and intensity of walking, as well as individual characteristics.
Integrating Walking Desks into Daily Life
To maximize the weight loss potential of a walking desk, it's essential to integrate it effectively into your daily routine.
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Gradual Introduction: If you suddenly go from sitting all day to standing all day, you run the risk of developing back, leg, or foot pain; it's better to ease into it by starting with 30 to 60 minutes a day and gradually increasing it. Setting a timer to remind you when to stand or sit (as many experts recommend) can disrupt your concentration, reduce your focus, and reduce your efficiency or creativity.
Optimal Pace: Federal guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week, which translates to walking about 3 miles per hour. However, maintaining this pace while working may be challenging. Schuna notes that a faster pace may lead to perspiration and labored breathing, potentially affecting productivity.
Consistency: Regular use is crucial for seeing results. Salo's marketing director, Maureen Sullivan, mentions that some employees use the treadmill desks for one to four hours every day or every other day.
Office culture: You may find that using a walking pad during a video call with clients, for example, could be a distraction. Or your office attire may not be up to the task of long periods of walking. If you often work independently, have a private office or work from home, putting in some walking-pad time may be easier to work into your day.
Additional Benefits of Walking Desks
Beyond weight loss, walking desks offer several other advantages:
Read also: Weight Loss with Indoor Exercises
Improved Physical Health: Sitting for long periods is one of the worst things we can do for our health, because it can hurt your posture, lead to a smorgasbord of aches and pains, and even raise your risk for cancer. Swapping even some of that sitting time for moderate activity - such as brisk walking on a walking pad - could make a difference and benefit heart health. Sedentary behavior has also been linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer.
Enhanced Brain Function: The mind-body connection is real. People in one study reported that desk walking made them feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. And they had fewer negative effects, including lack of attention, on days when they used a walking pad compared to days when they worked at their desk. Another study showed that people improved their reasoning scores when standing, stepping, and walking as compared with sitting.
Reduced Stress: Stress levels are often linked to movement. So it’s not surprising that using a walking pad on a regular basis can help lower stress - whether at home or work. A review of 23 studies on the relationship between use of walking pads at work and physical and emotional health found evidence that standing desks and the use of walking pads helped make people more active in the workplace, reduced stress, and improved overall mood.
Increased Focus and Concentration: A 2024 Mayo Clinic study of 44 people using a walking pad or other active workstation showed they improved their mental cognition (thinking and judgment) without reducing job performance. Researchers also measured typing accuracy and speed and found that while typing speed slowed down a little, accuracy wasn’t affected.
Choosing the Right Walking Desk
When selecting a walking desk or walking pad, consider the following factors:
Size: Look closely at the description of the walking pad to make sure it will fit under your desk or any other space you want to use it in your home. You may also want to think about how heavy it is and how easy (or difficult) it will be for you to move it.
Weight Capacity: It’s also a good idea to check the walking pad’s weight limit and pad size to make sure it’s a good fit for your body type. Walking pads normally handle about 220 pounds, but some models can handle 300+ pounds.
Noise: If you plan to use your walking pad in areas where co-workers or family members are, noise level is an important feature to think about. In general, folding walking pads may make more noise than stationary ones.
Speed: Walking pads also provide a range of maximum speeds, depending on the type of workout you want. Usual speeds are between 2.5 and 8.6 mph.
Smart Features: Some walking pads can communicate with your mobile device or are Bluetooth-enabled. Some even have speakers so you can listen to your favorite tunes or podcasts while you walk.
Foldable: If you have limited floor space or want to carry your walking pad with you as you commute between working at home and in the office, a foldable walking pad is a practical choice. They have a hinged pad that allows for easy storage and are popular with people who want to store exercise equipment away at the end of the day or when they’re not using it. Foldable walking pads may come with a stabilizing handle you can take off.
Under-desk: Another popular feature is the ability to fit your walking pad under your stand-up desk. These types of walking pads do not have a handle or bar to rest your laptop or phone on.
Adjustable incline: If you want more of a challenge, some walking pads have an adjustable incline feature to help amp up your cardio workout. It makes it feel like you’re walking up a hill. (Incline walking has also been shown to make ankles and knees stronger and more flexible.) You can adjust the incline to 5% or more. This allows you to work your way up to a more challenging workout or vary the intensity at intervals. Some adjustable incline walking pads even come with stability handles for more safety and balance. Experts suggest starting out with the walking pad flat and gradually increasing the incline up to 2%-3% for five minutes, adjusting back to zero for two minutes, and then setting the incline back to 2%-3% for three or four minutes. Increasing these intervals over time lets you work up to more time (and steps) on the incline.
Potential Drawbacks
While walking desks offer numerous benefits, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider:
Cost: Treadmill desks can cost between $1,000 and $1,500, which may be a significant investment for some individuals.
Distraction: Setting a timer to remind you when to stand or sit (as many experts recommend) can disrupt your concentration, reduce your focus, and reduce your efficiency or creativity. It's also true that certain tasks - especially those requiring fine motor skills - are more accurately performed while seated.
Adjusting to walking: The idea of a walking pad is that you can reap the rewards of walking while talking on a conference call - without gasping for breath. It’s like the equivalent of walking at a normal speed while texting on your phone. When you’re using a walking pad at your desk, you can still type and talk, but it gets you out of your chair.