New ‘Back App’ chair helps you burn fat as you sit

A NEW scientific study has found that by sitting on the Back App dynamic chair, office workers can burn as many calories as if they were standing.

Picture: Back App

The Back App chair is different from all other chairs because it requires the person seated on it to constantly keep their balance on a ball. The person places their feet on the chair’s foot ring and their whole body is moving as they use their leg, back and stomach muscles to keep their balance while sitting.

Scientists from the University of Leuven in Belgium and from the University of Limerick in Ireland have studied energy expenditure among people sitting on the novel Back App chair compared with on an ordinary office chair with arm rest and back rest.

They found that energy expenditure increased significantly (p=0.001) on the novel Back App chair by an average of 19 per cent.This is because energy is burned in order to keep balanced while on the Back App.

Same energy expenditure as when standing

The energy expenditure increase on the Back App chair was huge. From literature we know that when moving from sitting to standing energy expenditure increases by around 15 per cent. Therefore the findings show that sitting on the novel Back App chair uses as much extra energy as when standing.

Can burn 4 kg body fat per year

If an office worker sits on the novel Back App chair in their office for a year, they can burn 4 kg more body fat than if they sit on an ordinary office chair with arm rest and back rest.

Even more possibilities to exercise with the Back App chair

The challenge of the novel Back App chair is adjustable. The “Magic” ball component can be moved up and down to adjust the stability of the chair, and therefore the amount of balancing required. In the study, the ball was in a moderately unstable position, not requiring much effort from the seated person. Screwing the ball down further increases the challenge and increases energy expenditure to even higher levels.