06/01/2026
Trying to lose weight this January? Here’s something most people miss.
Two people of a similar size can burn up to ~2,000 calories a day more than each other, without doing any extra sport-like exercise.
That difference is often NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), a term coined by James Levine.
NEAT is all the everyday movement outside of sport-like exercise that we barely notice:
walking, carrying, tidying, moving between tasks, shifting posture… even fidgeting.
Small, unconscious movement adds up.
Here’s the ergonomics part....
Most workplaces are designed to remove movement.
-We optimise reach
-We lock people into one posture
-We reward stillness
And without realising it, we design NEAT out of the day.
So what does “more NEAT by design” look like?
-Manufacturing / warehouse: meaningful task rotation, short walking loops, safe material presentation, built-in micro-breaks.
-Office: sit/stand for variation, walk-and-talk meetings, stairs and printers that encourage movement.
If January is about weight loss, energy, or sustainability at work,
the answer might not be more sport-like exercise… it might be more NEAT.
Check out Dr James Levine talking about NEAT in the comments.
