Research

Energy balance

Low levels of spontaneous physical activity (SPA) are associated with a higher rate of subsequent body weight and fat mass gain in Pima Indian males.

Focus on increasing your daily non-exercise movement. This includes fidgeting, pacing, or just staying generally active throughout the day. In this study, men with lower levels of this spontaneous activity gained more weight over time, suggesting that keeping your body in motion outside of formal exercise is a key factor in weight maintenance.

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In males only, SPA correlated inversely to the rate of subsequent body weight change (r = -0.25, P < 0.05) and the rate of fat-mass change (r = -0.35, P < 0.005).
F. Zurlo et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 1992

Why this rating

Longitudinal study with controlled respiratory chamber measurements, though limited to a specific ethnic group (Pima Indians) and sex (males).

Source

Spontaneous physical activity and obesity: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in Pima Indians

F. Zurlo et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 1992

DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.1992.263.2.e296

cross_sectional · n=180Cited 166×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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