Behavior Change and Health News
Casual Clothing at Work Affects Physical Activity
A new study finds that people experience an 8% increase in physical activity during the workday when they dress in casual clothes. The researchers suggest that if these employees wore casual clothing every day, they would burn additional calories and potentially offset average weight gain of up to almost 2 pounds a year.
Labor-saving devices allow us to get by with very little physical activity during a normal work day. This inactivity, combined with changed eating habits over the past decade, contributes to the increased risk of heart disease and obesity many people are experiencing.
“Modern technology has engineered so much activity out of our daily lives,” says Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. “And this is an easy way to put it back in.”
Employees at 25 companies wore step counters two days a week for two weeks. They wore casual clothes one day a week and more formal work attire the other day. The researchers chose participants from several different types of businesses to ensure that jobs with various activity levels were represented. They found that study participants took an average of 491 more steps on casual days than on days they wore normal business clothing.
Dress to Move
Programs such as Active Living Every Day encourage adults to change their lifestyles to include physical activity as a priority. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the building, and walking to a coworker’s office instead of using the phone or e-mail are simple ways to include more activity in the work day. But will people do that when they’re dressed up?
“If you were a woman in high heels you’d be less likely to take the stairs instead of the elevator,” says study author Katie L. Zahour, MA, of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. “So our subjects were completely dressed down and wore more casual shoes that allowed them to be more mobile.”
Can’t Dress Down?
Some businesses don’t allow employees to dress down for various reasons. Some think it gives them a bad image, hampers productivity, or is too difficult to monitor. What can employees do in this case to increase their physical activity during the day? Here are some suggestions.
- Bring comfortable shoes to work and take one or two walking breaks throughout the day.
- Keep resistance bands in the office and use them while on the phone.
- Ask a colleague to walk and talk instead of sitting in a conference room for a meeting.
- Do stretches and other flexibility exercises in a chair.
Source
Anders, Mark. New research identifies the fitness benefits of wearing casual clothing to work. American Council on Exercise. www.acefitness.org/getfit/casualclothesstudy.cfm Acccessed 9/16/04
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