>> EVERYONE KNOWS THE VALUE OF EXERCISE.
BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE DESK JOBS IT'S HARD TO GET IN THE
NECESSARY STEPS.
HOW ABOUT RIDING A BIKE WHILE WORKING?
A U. MASS PROFESSOR AND HIS TEAM ARE STUDYING THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF PEDAL DESKS.
TO LEARN MORE, CAROLEE MCGRATH VISITED DR.
CHIPKIN, A PROFESSOR AND RESEARCHER IN KINESIOLOGY.
>> WE KNOW THAT WE'VE BECOME A SEDENTARY SOCIETY.
AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING SO SEDENTARY ARE INCREASES IN
OBESITY AND PROBLEMS WITH INSULIN, ALSO LEADING TO
DIABETES AND HEART DISEASE.
SO THIS HAS BECOME A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM IN THE
UNITED STATES AND IN THE WORLD.
ONE OF THE BIG REASONS I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS,
BECAUSE ALL OF OUR WORK NOW GENERALLY REVOLVES AROUND
SITTING MORE AND BEING LESS PHYSICALLY ACTIVE.
>> SO WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
HOW LONG DID THE PEOPLE IN THE STUDY PEDAL AT THEIR DESKS AND
WHAT KIND OF PEDAL DESK DID YOU USE?
>> WHAT WE FIRST WANTED TO SEE IS WHETHER OR NOT EVEN A SMALL
OR A BRIEF INTERACTION WOULD MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
WE ALSO NEEDED TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE
PEOPLE EXERCISING WHILE THEY'RE WORKING AND HAVING IT AFFECT
THEIR WORK.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE PEDAL DESK IDEA WAS THAT THEY COULD BE
SITTING AND COULD PEDAL INTERMITTENTLY.
THE FIRST QUESTION WE WANTED TO SEE IS WHETHER OR NOT THIS WOULD
MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN, ONE, THEIR WORK ACTIVITY, AND TWO,
THE METABOLISM OF WHAT HAPPENED IN RESPONSE TO A MEAL.
SO WE GOT A BUNCH OF VOLUNTEERS WHO WERE WONDERFUL TO
PARTICIPATE.
THEY AGREED TO HAVE A MEAL, AND AFTER THAT MALE THEY PEDALED FOR
A PERIOD OF UP TO TWO HOURS, DURING WHICH TIME WE DREW BLOOD
SAMPLES, AND WE HAD TWO CONDITIONS.
THE FIRST WAS, WITH THE PEDAL DESK, PEOPLE, TAKE THE SAMPLES.
SECOND CONDITION, SAME PEOPLE, JUST HAVE THE MEAL, NO PEDALING,
JUST SITTING, AND THEN DOING THE SAME TIMES OF TESTING ON THEM,
BOTH BLOOD TESTS FOR METABOLISM AND WORK SKILLS.
AND THE EXCITING PART WAS THAT WHEN WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE
RESULTS, WE SAW THAT THE BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS AND THE BLOOD FAT
LEVELS, THEY DIDN'T CHANGE VERY MUCH.
BUT THE AMOUNT OF INSULIN IT TOOK TO KEEP THOSE BLOOD SUGAR
AND BLOOD FAT LEVELS WAS MUCH LOWER.
SO YOU WERE GETTING MORE BANG FOR YOUR INSULIN BUCK.
EVERY TIME YOU WERE USING THE PEDAL DESK, COMPARED TO THE
PEOPLE WHEN THEY DID NOT USE THE PEDAL DESK.
THAT MEANS THAT IF WE CAN GET PEOPLE TO USE THE PEDAL DESK,
THEY WON'T BE TAXING THEIR SYSTEM EVERY TIME THEY EAT AND
THEN HAVE TO BE AT WORK, THEY'LL THAN MORE EFFICIENT IN HOW THEY
USE THE CALORIES.
WE THINK THAT OVERTIME THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE A POSSIBLE WAY
TO REDUCE THE RISK FOR THINGS LIKE DIABETES AND WEIGHT GAIN.
>> SO HOW MUCH OF A WORKOUT IS THIS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE WORKING AT THEIR DESK?
>> THIS WAS A MODERATE PACED WORKOUT, THIS WAS NOT TRYING TO,
AGAIN, BE THE FIRST TO GET TO THE FINISH LINE HERE.
PEOPLE ARE NOT SWEATING ENOUGH TO GO TAKE A SHOWER AFTERWARDS.
THIS IS A LEISURELY EVEN PACE THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING.
IT QUALIFIED AS A MODERATE AMOUNT OF EXERCISE.
SO IT WASN'T THAT THEY WERE DOING NOTHING.
NAY WERE DOING SOMETHING.
BUT IT WASN'T SO BURDEN SOME THAT IT BECAME TOO PROBLEMATIC
AND PEOPLE SAID I HAVE TO STOP BECAUSE I'M SO TIRED.
NOBODY GOT TO THAT POINT.
>> AND YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A PRIVATE PRACTICE, YOU'RE AN
ENDOCRINE ENDOCRINOLOGIST.
>> ONE OF THE BIG CONSEQUENCES I SEE IN MY PRACTICE IS THE
PROBLEMS RELATING TO OBESITY AND DIABETES, AND THAT LEADS THEN TO
THE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL AND HEART DISEASE
AND ALL THOSE CONSEQUENCES.
THEN THERE ARE ALL THE MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS, THE
KNEES, THE HIPS, ALL THE DIFFERENT JOINT PROBLEMS THAT
PEOPLE HAVE AS A RESULT OF HAVING ALL THE EXTRA WEIGHT ON
BOARD.
A LOT OF TIMES WHEN I SEE THEM THINGS HAVE ALREADY GONE TOO
FAR.
SO THE IDEA OF BEING ABLE TO GET IN WHEN SOMEONE COULD HELP
PREVENT SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS, THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FROM
MY PERSPECTIVE.
>> HOW REALISTIC DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE TO USE IN AN OFFICE
SETTING?
>> WE HAVE TWO ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION.
THE FIRST IS, IT PRETTY REALISTIC BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WE
TESTED THE PEOPLE FOR THE DIFFERENT WORK THINGS THEY CAN
DO.
WE HAD THEM READ AND ANSWER QUESTIONS, AND WE HAD THEM DO
SOME THINGS INVOLVING A LITTLE MORE CONCENTRATION.
THE WORK SKILLS WHEN THEY USED THE PEDAL DESK WERE EXACTLY THE
SAME PRODUCTIVITY AS WHEN THEY DID NOT USE THE PEDAL DESK, SO
IT WOULDN'T INTERFERE WITH THAT, AND WE THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT
FOR EMPLOYERS TO KNOW.
OBVIOUSLY IF PEOPLE ARE SO BUSY EXERCISING THEY WON'T BE
WORKING.
THE SECOND SENSE THAT WE HAD IS THAT PEOPLE PEDALED FOR THE
ENTIRE TWO HOURS AND AT A CONSISTENT RATE.
IT WASN'T THE FRANCE BIKE TOUR, BUT IT WAS A VERY NICE EVEN PACE
THAT REPRESENTED A VERY GOOD AMOUNT.
AND WE SPECIFICALLY DIDN'T COACH THEM OR SAY KEEP PEDALING HARDER
OR PUSHING THEM TO DO IT, WE DIDN'T SAY A WORD ABOUT IT.
WE JUST TOLD THEM PEDAL AS YOU WOULD, AS LONG AS YOU FEEL
COMFORTABLE, AND EVERYBODY IN THE STUDY CONTINUED TO PEDAL
VERY CONSISTENTLY THE ENTIRE TIME.
>> HOW ABOUT SOMETHING AS OPPOSED TO PEDALING FOR TWO
HOURS AT A DESK, HOW ABOUT LIKE A 10-MINUTE SPURT OF EXERCISE?
>> THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES THAT HAVE LOOKED AT THIS.
THIS IS WHERE I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA IF THE WORK SITE IS
ABLE TO ENGAGE IT.
SO IF YOU CAN GET SOMEBODY WHO CAN TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK, GO
OUT, WALK AROUND, VERY BRISKLY, COME BACK TO WORK, THAT ACTUALLY
HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE VERY SIMILAR BENEFITS FROM A
METABOLIC POINT OF VIEW, AND IT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE NICE
EFFECTS ON CLEARING SOMEONE'S MIND AND BEING ABLE TO FOCUS A
LITTLE BETTER.
THOSE THINGS ARE ON THE THERE AND I THINK WILL BE VERY
POSITIVE OUTCOMES FROM THOSE KINDS OF BREAKS.
BREAKS FROM SITTING IS NOW A VERY BIG TOPIC.
THE ONLY THING THERE IS WHETHER OR NOT THE WORK SITE CAN
ACCOMMODATE IT.
>> OKAY.
WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR REACH?
>> TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THESE PEDAL DESKS RAMPED UP, GET
MORE PEOPLE TO USE THEM FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
AS AN ENDOCRINOLOGIST I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE
PEOPLE MO HAVE DIABETES, BECAUSE I THINK THE GROUP WE AT
WHO WERE NOT DIABETIC, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANGE IN THEIR
GLUCOSE AND BLOOD FATS, BUT YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT.
THAT BUT IF I CAN TAKE SOMEBODY WITH DIABETES AND LOWER THEIR
BLOOD SUGARS AND MAKE THEM USE LISTENS LYNN, THAT IS A BIG
CHANGE FOR THEIR HEALTH AND HAS A TO PENSION TO OFFSET THE
PROBLEMS OF DIABETES.