By Marnie Kunz,
NASM-certified trainer, USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach

What is NEAT? NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and it includes everything we do in daily life that is not a workout, eating, or sleeping. This guide will cover everything you need to know about NEAT and how it relates to living a healthy, active lifestyle and maintaining (or reaching) a healthy weight. Increasing your NEAT to have more activity in your daily life can have significant health benefits, from reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity to helping you maintain a healthy weight.

If you’re a runner or exercise regularly, you may think that is enough to stay healthy. But researchers are increasingly finding that even people who work out can have negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle from sitting too long and not boosting NEAT.

What Is NEAT?

So what is NEAT exactly? NEAT - or non-exercise activity thermogenesis - is the energy you use daily, from cleaning and grocery shopping to gardening. NEAT is basically everything that burns calories besides workouts, sleeping, and eating. You are expending energy, or NEAT when you fidget, stand, walk, do errands, and do other light activities.

On the other hand, EAT is exercise activity-related thermogenesis, which occurs when you do structured exercise programs - such as running, weightlifting, swimming, cardio classes, spin, etc. Although EAT helps burn calories and contribute to overall health, energy expenditure induced by NEAT is much larger than EAT when measured over the day, according to researchers.

NEAT for Weight Loss

Boosting NEAT levels helps with weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, combining exercise and increasing NEAT is the best strategy for effective weight loss.

As an example of how NEAT can help burn calories, a 145-pound person burns about 102 calories an hour while sitting and working at a desk. But performing the same office work while standing causes the same person to burn 174 calories an hour.

This translates to 18,000 calories or over 5 pounds (since 3,500 calories equal one pound) over a 50-week work year. To equal that amount of calorie burning, the same person would need to do 60, 30-minute runs at a speed of 5 mph.

Benefits of NEAT

Boosting your NEAT can have far-reaching health effects. It’s no secret that there are many health risks associated with sitting for long periods, including obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a decreased lifespan.

Adding more standing and light movement throughout your day, and increasing NEAT, can have these benefits:

Boosts your metabolism. Increasing NEAT burns more calories and accelerates your metabolism. Boosting your light activity throughout the day can have an even more significant impact than structured workouts, burning more calories at the end of the day than one 20- or 30-minute moderate-intensity workout.
Lowers your risk of weight gain and obesity. In studies of sedentary people, those who increased NEAT and had less sitting time tended to be leaner and less likely to gain weight than people who sat for longer periods (both groups did not do workouts).
Increases lifespan. According to a Mayo Clinic study, there is a higher risk of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality across higher levels of sitting time. In other words, people who sit for more extended periods have shorter lifespans. Increasing NEAT can lengthen your lifespan.
Lowers your risk of heart diseases and conditions. Increased NEAT is linked to better heart health and reduced risk of heart conditions. In one study, after just one day of inactivity, the cellular processes that break down dangerous fats in the blood start to slow down, lowering HDL, the “good” cholesterol. Increasing NEAT and reducing sitting time boosts heart health and helps keep “good” cholesterol in the blood.

NEAT and Weight Loss

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, NEAT should be an essential part of the activity guidelines for healthy adults. After an in-depth study about what is NEAT and how it affects weight loss, the Mayo Clinic states, “We believe that to overcome the obesity epidemic and its adverse cardiovascular consequences, NEAT should be part of the current medical recommendations.”

Whether you do structured workouts or not, boosting your NEAT can give you big health rewards. In addition, increasing NEAT can have significant health benefits for people who find exercise difficult to maintain regularly.

In studies of people who live in Blue Zones, their long lifespans and health spans are linked to high levels of NEAT. Many people thriving well into advanced age in these communities do not do structured workouts but instead have active lifestyles that involve walking, sitting, standing, gardening, and attending community and social events. Check out our article How Blue Zones Can Help You Live Longer, Healthier for more details on lifestyle factors that can increase your health and lifespan.

How to Increase NEAT

With so many benefits of increasing NEAT, you may wonder how to boost your NEAT. Here are some of my tips as a trainer to help you add more light activity to your routine and improve your health:

Set a timer when you are sitting and working at a desk. Use a timer to remind yourself to get up every hour and move. Aim for at least 5 minutes of sitting or standing each hour you work.
Pick up a new hobby that involves movement, such as gardening,
Walk your dog more. If you have a dog, add one more daily walk to your schedule. Your dog will love you for this, and you’ll boost your daily step count.
Track your daily steps. Use a fitness tracking app or device to monitor how many steps you take per day. See Recommended Steps Per Day By Age for detailed guidelines on how many steps you should aim for each day.
Do at least one errand a day. Clean a room in your home, go pick up groceries, do laundry, do the dishes, or do another errand you need to get done. This will improve your NEAT and also help you get organized in your personal life.
Cook more. Cooking is an excellent way to boost your NEAT level and also helps you eat healthy, fresh foods. You can practice meal prep and cook healthy meals to prepare for the week or cook at least one meal daily. Cooking is generally much healthier than eating out, and you can check out our Healthy Recipes if you need ideas on what to make.
Walk or bike to do errands. Bike or walk to do your errands instead of driving.
Try a standing desk. Decrease your sitting time by using a standing desk. You can alternate between sitting and standing or slowly transition to more standing time as you adjust to the new desk.
Take the stairs. Skip the elevator and take the stairs to boost your activity level.
Take frequent water breaks when you’re working. Frequent water breaks will help you stay hydrated, boost your energy expenditure, and increase your time on your feet.
Stand or walk while making phone calls. You can pace around your office, go for a walk and make calls, or even use a treadmill desk.

FAQs

What is NEAT?

NEAT is non-exercise thermogenesis, which means all of the activities you do in daily life outside of structured exercise, eating, and sleeping. NEAT includes standing, fidgeting, walking, errands, and daily activities.

How can NEAT help with weight loss?

NEAT increases your energy expenditure and burns calories. Boosting your NEAT helps combat the harmful effects of sitting and a sedentary lifestyle. Increasing your daily activities can help you lose weight by burning calories. Burning 3,500 calories more than you take in causes you to lose 1 pound of bodyweight, and increasing your NEAT levels will boost your calorie burning to help with your weight loss goals.

Adding More Activity to Your Life

In conclusion, adding more light movements and activities to your daily life can help you lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, and enjoy better heart health and longevity benefits. Be creative and flexible and try different methods to decrease your sitting time, and you will be surprised at how much of a difference this can make in your health.

Happy moving to you! 😊

If you need a plan to help you with strength training or cardio workouts, head to our Training Center, and I can create a customized training program to suit your lifestyle and goals.

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, Brooklyn resident, Akita mom, and the founder of Runstreet.

What Is NEAT? Non-Exercise Activity and Weight Loss