6 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NON-EXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS
In this blog, I delve into what non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is, why it’s important, and how you can recognise it in your daily life.
Firstly, it is important to break down the different types of exercise and movement. NEAT is underrated and often overlooked. It is basic – but it is fundamental to acknowledge as it’s an element of how our bodies expend energy. Your metabolism is always working to burn energy. In periods of higher activity, your body will burn more calories than when you are at rest and seated.
A calorie is a measure of unit energy. Even at rest, your body is always expending energy to keep your body functioning. How you burn energy or expend calories, which is called the Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), can be found in these three categories:
1. The basal metabolic rate (BMR), also known as the resting metabolic rate, or RMR, is the amount of energy the body uses to support the functions of the organs and physiological systems, and it comprises approximately 60-75% of TDEE. The three organs most responsible for burning calories at rest are the liver, brain, and skeletal muscle, which burn 27, 19 and 18 percent of the RMR, respectively. It is worth noting the brain alone uses about one-fifth of your RMR, which helps explain why you don’t think as clearly when you’re hungry.
The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the energy the body uses to convert the food into more energy or to move it to a location to be stored (as fat) for use at a later time, and makes up about 10% of daily energy expenditure.
The thermic effect of physical activity (TEPA) accounts for the remaining energy expenditure—about 15-30% of daily energy output. Included in this number is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which is the amount of energy the body burns after exercise to return to its normal state.
Exercise activity thermogenesis is energy expended from exercise that we intentionally engage in (anything you do at the gym, going on a brisk run, bike rides, dancing, etc.). In a nutshell we tend to focus more on activity thermogenesis – calories burned while exercising.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis is the energy expended for everything we do when we’re not sleeping or exercising (hence the “non-exercise”). Examples of these can include: mowing the lawn, walking up a flight of stairs to get to the office instead of taking the elevator, even ironing and cleaning the house. They all burn calories, and more than we would expect.
Why is it good for me?
The energy expended through NEAT is totally underrated. We live in constant stressful states and forget to appreciate our bodies when we move more in a parasympathetic state of mind. It’s important to recognise the difference in the two categories and where they are in everyday life.
Here are six things to know about NEAT and how it can help you reach your health and weight-loss goals:
Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is an enzyme that plays a critical role in converting fat into energy. Remaining sedentary for long periods of time can reduce levels of LPL. Conversely, using NEAT to move consistently throughout the day can help sustain LPL levels and help the body maintain its ability to burn fat.
Daily steps really count. The NHS in the UK – Live Well promotes 10,000 steps as an achievable goal. If you can’t fit that into your day then try to get 10 minutes of walking daily and slowly build the time or number of steps. Adding extra steps to your day is an important component of NEAT that can burn calories, while adding health-promoting activity to your life. Think of more ways to include walking into your routine, for example, take the bus to work and walk home.
There is cleaning – yes cleaning around your house daily or weekly can be a great opportunity to increase NEAT.
Play with your kids - If you’ve got children, or your friends or family members have children, never underestimate the power of playing with them. The question is who will be worn out first – them or us? It’s so easy to fall into the modern-day trap of scrolling through our phones. Taking the time out to ‘play’ can not only add the fun factor and movement into your life, but also help boost your neural and cognition activity.
Standing can make a difference. A growing body of evidence shows that sitting still for too long can be hazardous to your health. Simply standing is one form of NEAT that can help increase your daily caloric expenditure. So instead of sitting on the train or bus to work, try standing instead.
Routines – What does your morning and evening routine look like? Are you incorporating some type of movement, such as stretching after you wake up or before bed?
NEAT is an essential component in staying active, but it doesn’t work on its own – it’s about building on the key pillars of health that all work together to lead a better lifestyle. Consider also your nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress, breath work, and mental well-being. Changing small habits will have a big effect on building and living a healthier lifestyle in the long-term.