You know that exercise is important for good health, and you want your employees to be active. But did you know that high levels of sedentary behavior are an independent risk factor for excess weight and chronic diseases?

No matter what your work setting, your employees can reduce risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle and dramatically increase the calories they burn each day through Spontaneous Physical Activity (SPA) and by sitting less.

Also called non-exercise activity thermogenesis, SPA describes the movements that aren't considered exercise -- things like fidgeting, shifting around in the chair, and drumming a pencil -- even getting up and walking down the hall for a drink of water.

Studies show that SPA accounts for 15-50% of a person's total daily energy expenditure. Different people may burn 100-700 calories a day from SPA, depending on work and leisure activity patterns - and that doesn't count any calories burned from planned exercise.

Simply sitting less can have a huge impact on energy output and weight management. Research shows that overweight people sit an average of 2 hours more per day than their healthy-weight counterparts. By shifting from a pattern of sitting to a pattern of standing, a person could burn an additional 300-500 calories a day. That's enough for a 30 lb. weight loss over one year without making any other lifestyle changes.

Help your employees achieve and maintain a healthy weight by encouraging SPA and less sitting during work hours. Build activity breaks into meeting agendas and encourage managers to conduct walking one-on-one meetings and stand-up phone calls. Make stairwells accessible and welcoming and post signs to remind employees to use them.

Increasing SPA and decreasing sedentary behavior will help your employees begin decreasing their health risks even if they're not yet ready to commit to a regular program of vigorous activity.