Fidgeting Can Burn Hundreds of Calories a Day
Norton says the burn is more than 100 or 200 calories, and NEAT appears to be the most changeable of the three parts.
Andrew Huberman · Essentials: The Science of Eating for Health, Fat Loss & Lean Muscle | Dr. Layne NortonFidgeting and other unplanned movement can burn hundreds of calories a day, and in some people close to 1,000.
Nutrition scientist Dr. Layne Norton calls it NEAT, short for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. It includes waving hands while talking, tapping feet, and other fidgeting.
That is separate from purposeful exercise, such as going for a walk or doing a training session. It is also separate from resting metabolism and the energy used to digest food.
Norton says the burn from NEAT is not 100 or 200 calories per day. In some cases, he says, it is several hundred calories a day, and can approach 1,000.
He says NEAT appears much more changeable than resting metabolism or digestion.
Questions people ask
What counts as NEAT?
Norton describes NEAT as unplanned movement such as waving hands while talking and tapping feet. Norton distinguishes it from purposeful exercise, such as going for a walk or doing a training session. It also sits apart from resting metabolism and digestion.
Why is NEAT described as the most modifiable part?
Norton places NEAT alongside resting metabolic rate and the energy used to digest food. He says NEAT appears much more changeable than the other components. He does not give a specific prescription for changing it.