Office workers boost health with just one walking-based meeting a week, says US research

Introducing walking meetings to workforces could prove an effective move for fitness operators that have branched out into the lucrative arena of corporate wellness, according to new pilot study.

Public health researchers with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the US have found that changing just one seated meeting at work each week into a walking meeting leads to a measurable increase in the work-related physical activity levels of white-collar workers.

And this is key, because previous studies have shown that engaging in moderate exercise – which includes brisk walking – for as little as 15 minutes each day can add up to three years onto someone’s life expectancy.

Not only that, but a study published in the Lancet in July said that office workers need to schedule an hour of exercise each day to avoid serious health issues.

Three-week study
Participants in the Opportunities for Increased Physical Activity in the Workplace: the Walking Meeting study* were white-collar workers recruited from the university. They wore accelerometers to measure physical activity levels during the working day over a three-week period.

They also followed a ‘walking meeting protocol’ that included guidance for leading meetings and also for taking notes while walking.

The average combined moderate/vigorous physical activity reported by participants increased from 107 minutes in the first week to 114 minutes in the second week and 117 minutes in week three of the study.

“Walking is known to have tremendous health benefits,” says lead author Hannah Kling, the walking study’s project director and a graduate of UM’s Department of Public Health Sciences. “Having sedentary, white-collar workers consider walking meetings feasible suggests that this intervention has the potential to positively influence the health of many individuals.”

Workforce wellness
Results – published in June in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Preventing Chronic Disease – indicate that walking meetings could therefore offer a new approach to improving the health of millions of white-collar workers, who tend to spend most of their workdays sitting in chairs.

The study also supports the American Heart Association’s recommendations of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity for adults, or about 30 minutes each weekday.

“There are limited opportunities for physical activity at work,” said the study’s principal investigator, Alberto J Caban-Martinez. “This pilot study provides early evidence that white-collar workers find it feasible and acceptable to convert a traditional seated meeting into a walking meeting.

“Physical activity interventions such as this – which encourage walking and raise levels of physical activity in the workplace – are needed to counter the negative health effects of sedentary behaviour.”

* King, H et al. Opportunities for Increased Physical Activity in the Workplace: the Walking Meeting. Preventing Chronic Disease. June 2016