Working from home has transformed the way many Australians approach their working day. For millions of office workers, it can mean greater flexibility, less time commuting and the convenience of being able to work from home.
But removing the daily commute and much of the incidental movement associated with going to an office can also create a very different physical environment.
Recent Australian research by RMIT University academic Opoku Adabor, published in the journal Economic Papers, has examined the relationship between working from home and obesity using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.
The study used nationally representative longitudinal Australian data covering approximately 17,000 Australians between 2006 and 2021. It found that greater amounts of working from home were associated with increases in body mass index (BMI) and a higher likelihood of obesity over time.
While weight and overall health are influenced by many different factors, the research raises an important question for people who regularly work from home:
How much are you actually moving during your working day?
Working from home can remove a surprising amount of movement
It is easy to underestimate the amount of physical activity that can occur naturally during a conventional working day.
Travelling to work might involve walking to a train station or bus stop, moving through a car park, climbing stairs or walking several blocks between transport and the office.
Once you arrive, there can be further movement between meeting rooms, to and from the kitchen, out to lunch or simply walking across the office to speak with colleagues.
When you work from home, many of these activities can disappear.
Your morning commute could effectively become a walk from the bedroom to a desk only a few metres away.
Adabor's research identified reduced physical activity as one of the possible mechanisms connecting working from home with higher BMI and obesity risk. In particular, the study found that working from home can reduce physical activity associated with transportation, including public transport.
That doesn't mean working from home is inherently unhealthy.
Instead, it suggests that people who work remotely may need to be more deliberate about putting movement back into a day from which a large amount of incidental activity has disappeared.
The study recommends frequent movement breaks
One of the most practical findings from the research is its emphasis on introducing regular physical activity into the home-working day.
The study recommends establishing a daily routine that incorporates short and frequent periods of physical activity, including activities such as walking, stretching and mini-workouts, together with regular exercise.
That is particularly relevant for people working long hours at a computer.
Rather than viewing exercise as something that must happen exclusively before work, after work or at the gym, there are opportunities to build small amounts of movement into the working day itself.
This is where the design of a home office can make a significant difference.
Alternate between sitting and standing
A height-adjustable standing desk provides one of the simplest ways to introduce more variation into a desk-based working day.
Instead of sitting continuously for hours at a time, you can alternate between sitting and standing depending on the task you are completing.
You might sit while carrying out concentrated computer work, raise your desk for a video meeting, remain standing while reviewing documents and then return to sitting later.
The aim does not need to be to stand all day.
Instead, a standing desk allows you to change your working position regularly and easily.
That flexibility can help make movement a normal part of your workflow rather than something that requires you to stop working entirely.
A height-adjustable desk also provides a platform for taking workplace activity a step further.
Walk while completing suitable work tasks
An under-desk walking pad can turn appropriate parts of the working day into an opportunity to walk.
The UpDown Desk PRO Walking Pad is designed to fit beneath a standing desk, allowing users to walk at adjustable speeds while carrying out suitable desk-based activities.
A walking pad obviously won't be appropriate for every task.
Detailed spreadsheet work, graphic design or activities requiring extremely precise mouse control may be easier while sitting or standing still.
But there are many parts of the working day where gentle walking may be more practical.
For example, you might use a walking pad while:
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attending an online meeting where you are primarily listening;
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watching a webinar or training presentation;
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reading emails;
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conducting routine administrative work; or
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taking a phone call.
One of the important aspects of Adabor's recommendations is that physical activity does not necessarily have to occur in one long session.
The study specifically highlights short, frequent activity breaks.
That makes a walking pad particularly relevant to people working from home.
Instead of needing to find an uninterrupted hour during the day to go for a long walk, you could potentially incorporate several shorter walking sessions into your normal working routine.
For example, 10 or 15 minutes of walking during a morning meeting, another short session after lunch and some additional walking while clearing emails in the afternoon can make movement a more regular feature of the day.
The objective isn't to turn every working hour into exercise.
It is simply to make moving easier.
Pedal while you work
Walking isn't the only way to introduce physical activity into a home office.
An under-desk or workstation exercise bike provides another option.
The UpDown PRO Exercise Bike is designed so that light pedalling can be combined with suitable work activities. Adjustable resistance allows users to vary the intensity depending on what they are doing.
As with a walking pad, the major advantage is accessibility.
A traditional exercise session can require you to stop work, change clothes, travel to a gym or dedicate a specific block of time to exercising.
When fitness equipment forms part of your workstation, the barrier to doing some activity becomes much lower.
You might pedal during a webinar, phone call, video meeting or another task that doesn't require you to remain completely stationary.
Some people may prefer walking. Others may find pedalling more comfortable or easier to combine with computer work.
The important principle is the same: create opportunities to move during periods that might otherwise be completely sedentary.
Build movement into the structure of your day
A more active home office doesn't mean exercising continuously for eight hours.
Instead, it can mean creating an environment that gives you different options throughout the day.
A practical routine could look something like this:
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Begin the morning sitting while completing concentrated work.
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Raise your standing desk for your first meeting.
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Spend 10–15 minutes walking during a suitable video call.
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Take a genuine break at lunchtime and walk outside where practical.
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Work standing for part of the afternoon.
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Pedal on an exercise bike during a webinar or phone call.
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Incorporate short stretching and movement breaks between tasks.
No individual activity needs to be particularly long.
The important change is avoiding the situation where several hours pass while you remain in exactly the same position.
Diet and eating habits matter too
Physical activity was not the only possible explanation examined in the RMIT research.
Adabor's study also considered eating behaviour.
Working from home provides easy access to the kitchen throughout the working day, potentially making frequent snacking or unplanned eating easier than in a structured office environment. The research therefore also recommends establishing regular meal times and making healthier food choices available at home.
This is an important qualification.
A standing desk, walking pad or exercise bike should not be regarded as a treatment for obesity or as a substitute for appropriate nutrition, regular exercise or medical advice.
Weight and general health are influenced by many different factors.
Instead, these products can be considered tools that make physical activity and changes in working position more convenient during a workday that could otherwise involve very little movement.
Make your workspace encourage movement
As working from home becomes a normal part of professional life for many Australians, it may be worth reconsidering what makes an effective home office.
Traditionally, we might think about a workstation primarily in terms of the desk, chair, monitors and computer.
But another useful question is:
Does your workspace make it easy for you to move?
A height-adjustable standing desk makes it easy to alternate between sitting and standing.
A walking pad can create opportunities to walk while completing appropriate work tasks.
An exercise bike can provide another way to introduce movement while remaining at your workstation.
The central lesson from Adabor's research is not that working from home automatically leads to obesity.
Rather, the findings suggest that working from home can remove some of the physical activity naturally associated with commuting and conventional office life, while potentially changing eating behaviours as well.
For home workers, that means movement may need to become more intentional.
Regularly changing position, taking short movement breaks, walking during suitable tasks and incorporating light activity into the workstation are all practical ways to make a home-working day less sedentary.
A well-designed home office shouldn't just help you work productively.
It can also make it easier to keep moving while you work.
Explore UpDown Desk's range of workplace fitness equipment, including the PRO Walking Pad and PRO Exercise Bike, and create a home workspace designed to encourage more movement throughout your working day.
