An increasing percentage of the workforce is engaged in office tasks that requires one to sit down in a seat for most of the day. You may not know this, but there are health risks associated with extended periods of inactivity. The most frequently discussed health risks are the issues related to obesity such as heart disease and diabetes. A more immediate risk is deep vein thrombosis (blood clots).
The concept is relatively simple: You position your desk over a treadmill, and walk very slowly on the treadmill as you work at your desk.
The following CNN segment briefly discusses how TrekDesk:
According to the research some of the benefits of walking in this manner include (slowly and for an extended period of time):
Weight loss of up to 50-70 lbs in a single year without restrictive dieting
Reduces stress and depression symptoms 30%-47% faster and more effectively than medications (source: Harvard Medical School)
50% reduction in the risk of Type 2 Diabetes (source: American Diabetes Association)
Reduces the risk of cancers 30-70% (source: National Institutes for Health)
Improves memory and cognitive abilities as much as 15% in a 6 month period (source: University of Illinois)
A workout at work with a treadmill desk slows physical and mental aging processes
90% reduction in risk of initial heart attacks (source: American Heart Association)
70% reduction in the risk of stroke (source: American Heart Association)
I was very interested in this concept so I decided to try it myself. I happened to have an adjustable desk from Ikea in my office. I manipulated the desk to sit over a treadmill. My custom desk and treadmill setup was a little cumbersome and ugly, but it did the trick. I tried it out for a few days. At first it was a little distracting, but I set the treadmill speed at a very slow rate and I eventually forgot I was on a treadmill. I had to discontinue this practice because my treadmill's motor could not handle extended periods of usage, but I consider it a very promising office tool and I would recommend it to anyone.