I’m thinking about buying one of the Therapy Balls, those ones you sit on instead of a desk chair but want to know if they work as advertised. Not in a therapy manner for back issues but from the “passive” calorie burning standpoint.
Below is a typical claim taken directly from their advertising.
“Sitting on an exercise ball burns about 6 percent more calories than using a normal desk chair, according to a 2008 University of Buffalo study published in The European Journal of Applied Physiology.”
I was able to track down one report from a reputable site but it only references a study with 24 subjects.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18351381
Does anyone have any further studies that confirm or disprove these claims? Any long term studies on larger groups of subjects? I’m interested but would hate to be one of those people who find themselves justifying a bogus “science.”
Thanks in advance to all on the SD.
I’ve sat on them before. You get a similar effect by sitting towards the edge of your chair with your back held Victorian-corset straight.
6% increase for sitting in a chair…
According to the calorie calculator I tried, that would amount to about 3 calories, so in an 8 hr day, that would be 24 calories or about 1/3 of an apple’s worth of calories.
<soapbox> People always seem to focus on how many calories are burned by this or that activity when it’s really your resting metabolism you should be thinking about. Many studies have shown that vigorous exercise can raise your resting metabolism for as long as 14 hrs after exercising, so the benefit isn’t just the calories burned at the gym, it’s all the extra calories you’re going to burn at home while resting. I hear all the time “exercise moderately for best fat burning” and it’s silly. Yes, the metabolic pathways that support fat burning occur at lower exercise intensities, but you’re totally missing out on the overall metabolic effect of vigorous exercise. Burn glycogen for 45 minutes in the gym so you can burn fat for 14 hrs afterwards at home.</soapbox>
That was just one quote from one ad. I have seen claims as high as 15% (very dubious) and the study sited on the NIH link above gave a number closer to the one you came to at 4.1 kcal/h over just sitting in a chair.
I do realize this is not a significant number in itself. However my thought is that for the few hours every day I’m at my desk and the several hours at home watching TV, on the PC or reading. I figure if I can add to my calorie burn every bit counts. I really do not want to bother buying one if the real answer is there is no change in calorie burn or at least no scientific research backing up the claims. Especially since I’m likely to be spending anywhere from $30 to $75 each ball and will need one for the office and one for home.
I know there are many at the SD that have better access to medical publications and research results than a basic Google search by a non-expert can provide. I’m hoping one can help locate it if it in fact exists.
As for the Soapbox, I am 100% with you.
I am working out every(ish) morning for 30 minutes and 1 hour alternating daily. Leg injury prevents too much more at the moment. I work at a large campus and walk from one end to the other several times a day. It’s a fast walk 250+ paces (very aprx. 240m) from my office to any of the far sides of the campus. I average 6 round trips a day including an average of 15 flights of stairs a day. (Not all at one time. Just throughout a 9 - 10 hr. day.) I feel this is the real factor in getting me back in shape but Im a tech guy and if there is some bit of tech that will give me even a 5% edge I’m taking it. As long as it’s a real 5% and I can back up my use with at least a fair bit of science.
I’ve seen such balls many times, but I’ve never seen them used by ADULTS, or for the purpose of losing weight.
I’ve mainly seen them used by hyperactive kids in school classrooms. Kids who are prone to fidget or get antsy at school SOMETIMES get some benefit by sitting on bouncy balls rather than in chairs.
I imagine you would get more exercise arguing with Management about sitting on a ball instead of a normal chair like everyone else in the office.
Why?
We have folks at work who sit in traditional chairs. Others sit on therapy balls, and those kneel-only chairs. Quite a few have desktop additions so the stand or sit while work. This will never show up at work because it would violate safety requirements.
Are they soft and cushiony on your buttcheeks? That’s reason enough to get one, imo.
My kid’s 3rd grade classroom has one for every student. This is the second year the teacher has been using them and she thinks they’re great. In her words “the rare third grader is the one who’s NOT antsy and fidgety”.
If a kid objects and wants a regular chair she provides it for them but that never seems to be the case.
If these things stop fidgeting, then it seems counter-intuitive that they would aid in weight loss. 
I work for the Government and anything goes here. Although we dont have the full hamster wheel, that I must admit I really love the look of, we do have a couple of people who use a treadmill at a standing desk. My understanding is they have to provide the treadmill from a list of approved models and the department provides the standing desk setup from the reasonable accommodations budget.
I already walk a lot at work because of my job and the campus here is so large. The Marine Corps left me with a slight leg issue and it can get uncomfortable at times to stand in place so the standing desk is out for me. At 45 y/o the battle to stop the muffin top has become ever more difficult and what I’m really looking for is a lifestyle that is in constant calorie burning mode if possible. (Yes I know just being alive burns calories)
Improved diet and as much exercise as I can handle (literally) is only getting me so far as the years move on. So I’m still looking for some scientific studies that confirms or denies the validity of the meager but cumulatively significant calorie burning capabilities of the Therapy Balls.
There are some problems that they don’t talk about in the ads for them. Didn’t you guys ever watch The Office?
