The more we engage in structured exercise training, the more we tend to cut back on daily non-exercise physical activities like riding a bike to work instead of driving, or taking the stairs instead of hopping on an elevator. This is the conclusion reached from a meta-study from the University of Copenhagen. According to the study’s authors, this is an important consideration for anyone seeking to lose weight.
You may know the feeling. After a strenuous run or workout, you think you deserve an extra long rest on the couch, or an elevator ride instead of taking the stairs.
You are far from alone. A wide range of studies show that as people increase their amount of structured exercise, like going to the gym or running on the track, they tend to 'laze about' more when it comes to performing everyday physical activities that are not considered to be structured exercise.
"In 67% of the studies, we can see that people cut back on physical activities in their daily lives as compensation for more training. This includes walking less, cycling less and taking an elevator instead of the stairs," says Julie Marvel Mansfeldt, a graduate student at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports (NEXS).
Read more at University of Copenhagen