Warwick trials treadmill desk in bid to become the most active UK campus

Warwick University is trialling a “treadmill desk” among its staff with the aim of becoming the most active campus in the UK.

The treadmill desk is being trialled in the University’s Head Office building and will be stationed in various locations across campus over the coming months for both staff and students to try out.

The workstation, comprised of a moving walkway with an adjustable table attached to the top, has been introduced to allow staff to keep active and healthy by walking whilst doing their everyday work.

Following in the footsteps of initiatives such as This Warwick Girl Can, Warwick’s One Big Thing, and the introduction of bikes for hire on campus, the treadmill desk is the latest result of a wider campaign to increase participation and activity by encouraging daily exercise, even on days spent largely in the workplace.

Additional benefits of the desk, one of Warwick’s “innovative approaches to facilitating a healthier lifestyle,” are said to include support for those with back problems and become uncomfortable at a seated workstation for a lengthy period of time.

The desk runs at a maximum of four miles per hour and has been provided by American company Lifespan.

Staff have been issued health and safety guidelines including wearing flat shows and staff inductions, to ensure that the equipment will be used safely.

Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Director of Sport and Active Communities, said: “We’re encouraging people to be as active as they can be, ideally on a daily basis.

“People are time poor, and this is a way of us taking the activity to them.”

“Research suggests that ten minutes of exercise, three times a day, can be just as beneficial as exercising for 30 continuous minutes.”

She added that the innovative treadmill desk is “helping to get people talking about being active.”

Whilst the success of the workstation is yet to be seen, Ms Dodd-Mayne says that the University’s new exercise initiatives are “all part of being an active campus.”