That's Fit

What's NEAT? Well, beside being a word used by teenage TV stars of yesteryear to describe rocket ships and hula-hoops, it's also an acronym that may have you parking your car in the farthest spot from your office as possible.

Standing for Nonexercise Activity Thermogenesis (fancy talk for things you do, other than exercise, that also burn calories), NEAT was the explanation for an increase in triglyceride levels in men in a recent study. Danish researchers instructed study volunteers to take elevators instead of stairs, park close to buildings, and reduce the overall amount of walking they do for two weeks, after which time their triglyceride levels were again taken. Amazingly, researchers found that the men's levels were, on average, 18 percent higher after the two-week period.

Clearly, the takeaway from this study is to remember that burning calories need not require a gym membership or daily five-mile runs. Everyday activities -- such as those mentioned, as well as normal household chores and daily duties -- require caloric expenditure. To that end, greater benefit can be obtained from taking steps to increase your nonexercise effort level, with parking far from a building, using stairs instead of elevators, and walking to and from the store being great methods of how to go about doing just that.