Without question, inactivity is bad for us. Sitting for long periods of time is consistently associated with higher risks of heart disease and death. The obvious answer to this dire fate is not to sit down. Studies show that even a few moments of exercise can have benefits. But it’s hard to avoid sitting in our modern age, especially in the office. This has led to the development of a variety of strategies for standing up, including the rise of standing desks. If you have to strap on a table, at least you can do it while on your feet, the thinking goes.
However, studies on whether standing desks are beneficial have been few and sometimes inconclusive. Additionally, prolonged standing may have its own risks, and data on work-related sitting have also been mixed. While the final verdict on standing desks is still unclear, two studies out this year offer some of the most important evidence yet about the potential benefits and risks of working on your feet.
Take a seat
Over the years, studies have indicated that standing desks improve markers of cardiovascular and metabolic health, such as lipid levels, insulin resistance, and arterial flow-mediated dilation (increased blood flow). ability of arterioles to widen in response). But it’s unclear how important these improvements are to preventing adverse health outcomes such as heart attacks. A 2018 analysis suggested the benefits may be modest.
And there are good reasons to be skeptical about standing desks. For one, standing – like sitting – is not moving. If lack of movement and exercise is the main problem, then standing will not be the solution.
Yet, while sitting and standing can arguably be lumped into one category of “stationary,” some researchers have argued that not all seating is created equal. In a 2018 position paper published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, two health experts argued that the link between poor health and sitting may come down to the specific populations being examined and for “home Time to sit down” of the “special contribution” for example, the ‘couch potato effect.’
The two researchers—professor emeritus David Rempel, formerly of the University of California, San Francisco, and Nicholas Krause, formerly of UCLA—pointed to several studies that specifically linked occupational sitting time and poor health outcomes. , which have come to mixed results. For example, a 2013 analysis found no link between sitting at work and heart disease. Although the study suggested an association with mortality, the association was only among women. There was also a 2015 study of about 36,500 workers in Japan who were followed for an average of 10 years. The study found that there was no association between mortality and sitting time among salaried workers, professionals and people working in home businesses. However, there was a link between mortality and sitting among people working in the farming, forestry and fishing industries.
Still, despite some reluctance in the details, more recent studies continue to establish a link between prolonged sitting—anywhere sitting—and poor health outcomes, particularly heart disease. He has maintained an interest in standing desks in offices, where people don’t always have the luxury of frequent movement breaks. And as a result, researchers are on their toes trying to answer whether standing desks have any benefits.
