] The Mayo researchers call the type of movement and
] calorie burning that they study NEAT, for nonexercise
] activity thermogenesis. The leader of the research team,
] Dr. James Levine - a nutritionist, an endocrinologist and
] a professor of medicine - has defined the term as "the
] energy expenditure associated with all the activities we
] undertake as vibrant, independent beings." Those
] activities include "occupation, leisure, sitting,
] standing, walking, toe-tapping, guitar playing, dancing
] and shopping," he writes. His team has even measured the
] energy burned in gum-chewing (11 calories an hour, if you
] chew six pieces at a time).