SKANEATELES - According to recent statistics published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the occurrence of obesity in U.S. citizens has risen exponentially in the past decade.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Ed Zobel, a senior complaint investigator at Welch Allyn, works and works out simultaneously using his treadmill desk. Zobel has averaged walking nearly two miles per day since he started using the treadmill in April.
Ed Zobel, a senior complaint investigator at Welch Allyn, works and works out simultaneously using his treadmill desk. Zobel has averaged walking nearly two miles per day since he started using the treadmill in April.
In 2007, the center reported only Colorado had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, while three states - Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee - had a prevalence of greater than 30 percent. Last year was the first time three states exceeded that number.
Part of the reason for the dramatic increase, experts suggest, is the change in workplace habits. As technology advances, people are spending less and less time moving at work and more hours sitting in front of computers.
But one Welch Allyn employee has found a clever method of working and exercising at the same time.
On June 11, employee Ed Zobel acquired a SteelCase Walkstation, which is essentially a treadmill with a desk attached.
With a maximum speed of 2 mph, or roughly half the average walking speed, the Walkstation has a height-adjustable desk surface that allows Zobel to work while seated or while slowly walking when the desk is raised.
“I'm trying to do at least four or five miles a day,” Zobel said from his office at Welch Allyn. His normal habit is to walk for a couple of miles, then sit and rest for a few minutes.
“But some days I'll walk straight through. ... I've gone as far as 14 miles in a day,” he added.
Zobel's Walkstation is an experiment that is part of Welch Allyn's 10,000 Steps program, in which employees were given pedometers and encouraged to walk at least 10,000 paces in a work day.
“That's about equal to five miles, which is considered the minimum to maintain proper health,” said Kathy Garofalo, Welch Allyn health services manager and organizer of the program.
“These steps are all through the day, not just walking five miles at once. So anything you do during the day counts,” she added.
As incentives, employees are rewarded with gifts if they surpass a particular number of steps.
“People keep track of their steps on the computer,” Garofalo explained. “Like in May, anyone who got a certain number of steps got a gym bag.”
When the program ends next month, participants will earn gift cards of differing amounts corresponding to their average number of daily steps. Someone who averaged a higher number of steps will receive a gift card worth more, she said.
Gym bags and gift certificates aside, Zobel pointed to the countless benefits of his Walkstation.
“One, you get your exercise without breaking in on company time,” he said. “Two, I've had (the desk) for about six weeks, and I've lost 22 pounds.
“I feel better; I have more energy, and I'm more alert at work. The only bad thing I can say is that I've worn out a pair of sneakers already,” he said with a laugh.
After providing Zobel with his desk, Garofalo said, the company has potential plans to purchase more.
“We're going to look at his statistics after six months,” Garofalo said, “and we hope to get a bunch of those things in here.”
Part of the reason for the dramatic increase, experts suggest, is the change in workplace habits. As technology advances, people are spending less and less time moving at work and more hours sitting in front of computers.
But one Welch Allyn employee has found a clever method of working and exercising at the same time.
On June 11, employee Ed Zobel acquired a SteelCase Walkstation, which is essentially a treadmill with a desk attached.
With a maximum speed of 2 mph, or roughly half the average walking speed, the Walkstation has a height-adjustable desk surface that allows Zobel to work while seated or while slowly walking when the desk is raised.
“I'm trying to do at least four or five miles a day,” Zobel said from his office at Welch Allyn. His normal habit is to walk for a couple of miles, then sit and rest for a few minutes.
“But some days I'll walk straight through. ... I've gone as far as 14 miles in a day,” he added.
Zobel's Walkstation is an experiment that is part of Welch Allyn's 10,000 Steps program, in which employees were given pedometers and encouraged to walk at least 10,000 paces in a work day.
“That's about equal to five miles, which is considered the minimum to maintain proper health,” said Kathy Garofalo, Welch Allyn health services manager and organizer of the program.
“These steps are all through the day, not just walking five miles at once. So anything you do during the day counts,” she added.
As incentives, employees are rewarded with gifts if they surpass a particular number of steps.
“People keep track of their steps on the computer,” Garofalo explained. “Like in May, anyone who got a certain number of steps got a gym bag.”
When the program ends next month, participants will earn gift cards of differing amounts corresponding to their average number of daily steps. Someone who averaged a higher number of steps will receive a gift card worth more, she said.
Gym bags and gift certificates aside, Zobel pointed to the countless benefits of his Walkstation.
“One, you get your exercise without breaking in on company time,” he said. “Two, I've had (the desk) for about six weeks, and I've lost 22 pounds.
“I feel better; I have more energy, and I'm more alert at work. The only bad thing I can say is that I've worn out a pair of sneakers already,” he said with a laugh.
After providing Zobel with his desk, Garofalo said, the company has potential plans to purchase more.
“We're going to look at his statistics after six months,” Garofalo said, “and we hope to get a bunch of those things in here.”
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