Portable pedal machines help those who work at a desk to exercise more without having to don their gym clothing, a study has suggested.

The research, the results of which have been published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, involved 18 fulltime employees.

These participants were each given a pedal device, which is like a mini exercise bike that can be set up in front of most standard office chairs and used while seated.

On average, the people involved in the study used the pedal machines on 12 out of 20 working days for 23 minutes a day.

The distance covered per day ranged from a third of a mile to almost 13.5 miles, which means that between nine and more than 500 calories were burned.

Last year, researchers from Duke-National University of Singapore revealed that obese people who work fulltime in the US cost their employers around $73.1 billion (£45.9 billon) in lost job productivity due to health problems.

Posted by Sue Wallis ADNFCR-2569-ID-800411224-ADNFCR

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