by Damilola Alawode

Many entrepreneurs like the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey of Apple, Facebook and Twitter respectively have all been known to favour walking meetings

Ever heard of the walking meeting? It is a way of indulging in mild physical activity while at work. With physical inactivity being the 4^th leading risk factor for global mortality according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is imperative that we get as much physical activity as we can. Though, the WHO advocates for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity for adults  and 60 minutes for children daily. Starting with this light intensity activity for those who are sedentary may be a life saver. Some activity is said to be better than none and engaging in the walking-meeting by those who are stuck behind their desks or laptops for most of the day is a good starting point.

Many entrepreneurs like the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey of Apple, Facebook and Twitter respectively have all been known to favour walking meetings. Also recently at a TED conference, Nilofer Merchant, a former technology executive extolled the benefits of walk-and-talk meetings. Research by fitness experts have also shown that the simple act of getting up from the work desk helps office employees think better.

Jack Groppel, vice president of Wellness & Prevention, a consulting group owned by Johnson & Johnson, advocates for a program which calls for standing up and walking around in the workplace for one or two minutes about every half hour, a process that he says would increase productivity.

Groppel says when workers start moving, it triggers a slight raise in heart rate for the first minute or two, meaning more oxygen is getting to the brain. In his words:

“What we did find in the studies that we did, after 90 days of doing this, people felt increased amounts of energy, they felt increased focus, they felt improved engagement,” he says.

“But the idea is not to take breaks from work. “What we’re saying is you can move and function while being productive,” Groppel says.

“However, for this concept to catch on, corporate leaders both internationally and locally will need to endorse the idea of routinely standing up to stretch during group meetings,” Groppel says. Leaders therefore have to be role models to their employees for this fad to really catch on.

Folks this can also be implemented on an individual level. Instead of sitting down to think, you can go for walks and do your thinking, the above benefits Groppel stated are yours as well. But note, this is not a substitute for the advocated daily amounts of physical activity needed to derive the full benefits of being active (Check https://dalawode.wordpress.com for more details on benefits of being physically active).

“KEEP WALKING”~Johnnie Walker

“We were designed to move”~Anonymous

(Excerpts from CNN.com)

———————–

Damilola Alawode is training to be a public health physician. He is also undertaking a Msc in Sports and Exercise Medicine. He is an advocate for the promotion of physical activity/exercise.  He blogs at www.dalawode.wordpress.com and tweets from @DAlawode.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.