Stand up!

The media has been reporting that we should all stand up more, so this means standing to work rather than sitting; walking or pacing when using the telephone, and generally being upright for a lot more of the day that we are perhaps used to. So what’s behind this suggestion? There has been a flurry of recent research into this and the findings suggest that being upright and slowly mobilising whist carrying out everyday tasks can lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and also reduce obesity levels because low intensity exercise (which standing and pacing are) modify energy expenditure quite a lot. A study in 2007 by Levine and Miller outlined this process and from their research a ‘walk and stand desk’ was created.

The media has been reporting that we should all stand up more, so this means standing to work rather than sitting; walking or pacing when using the telephone, and generally being upright for a lot more of the day that we are perhaps used to. So what’s behind this suggestion? There has been a flurry of recent research into this and the findings suggest that being upright and slowly mobilising whist carrying out everyday tasks can lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and also reduce obesity levels because low intensity exercise (which standing and pacing are) modify energy expenditure quite a lot. A study in 2007 by Levine and Miller outlined this process and from their research a ‘walk and stand desk’ was created.

This new regime is not just for office workers though; it has been taken up by those involved in childhood obesity research, diabetes research and also stress management research because it has been found that standing up more in all daily activities can yield significant benefits for our health. Therefore reading the paper, eating breakfast, speaking to clients on the telephone, can all (it is suggested) be easily done whilst standing. Research suggests that more standing and less sitting promotes an optimum metabolic level whilst the converse has a negative effect on cholesterol levels and fat metabolism. Standing up for three hours a day can use up an extra 750 calories which is a significant amount of energy. The benefits of this rather non- physical form of exercise should not be underestimated as it has other positive effects too, for example it improves balance and posture!

Schools in the UK are using this idea to try and tackle high levels of obesity in school age children. According to the Mail Online (2014), one school involved in a recent research study have been given adjustable desks which allow them to stand and do their schoolwork so that they are not sitting all the time they are in class. The research is based on the statistics that children living in developed countries spend 65% of their waking hours sitting down and these types of sedentary habits generally continue into adulthood; so the intention is to instil a healthier approach to low intensity exercise.

References

Clark, Laura, (2014) www.dailymail.co.uk

Levine JA, and Miller J. (2007) The energy expenditure of using a “walk-and-work” desk for office-workers with obesity. British Journal of Sports Medicine.