Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, accounts for the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise.

A closer look

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, accounts for the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise. Fidgeting, tapping your foot, and bouncing your knee can actually burn an additional 350 calories a day compared to sitting perfectly still like a normal person. Your annoying inability to sit quietly during a two-hour staff meeting is technically a low-level fat-burning cardiovascular workout. So the next time your manager tells you to stop aggressively bouncing your leg under the desk, just politely inform them that you are aggressively optimizing your metabolic rate while they are busy actively rotting in their rolling chair!