Standing Through Work Four Hours A Day Reduces Risk Of Obesity, Cancer And Diabetes, Study

A sit-stand desk can bring about a revolution in work, according to a study co-commissioned by Public Health England, to avoid sitting without movement all the time, according to theguardian.

By spending a minimum of two hours, and working their way to four hours of standing, the office-goers can have an active, instead of a sedentary lifestyle. While excessive sitting has been linked for long with heightened morbidity or premature death, employees have for the first time been given some achievable targets for standing.

Employees who sit the most face double the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with a 13% increased risk of cancer and a 17% increased risk of premature death, according to mashable.

The researchers are experts from the UK, US and Australia, and call for a revolution in the workplace through sit-stand desks, standing-based work and regular walkabouts.

More research has also been planned into whether toilet space should be pushed away from employees, emails could be hand-delivered and alarms on computers or personal motion assessment devices can get them to move.

Study co-author Gavin Bradley, from Active Working, a community interest company which co-commissioned the study and set up www.getbritainstanding.org, said: "We are creatures of habit and we have come to the wrong conclusion, that sitting is the optimum way of conducting office work. We need an environment where people feel much more liberated to do desk standing."

They found that sitters are most likely to stoke type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with a 13% and 17% increased risk of cancer and mortality. Employees tend to spend 65% to 75% of their working hours sitting, half of which is in prolonged periods of sustained sitting. The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Some kinds of work, such as writing a paper or numerical analysis, were better done sitting, but other sorts of work, such as meetings or going through your inbox, were more productive while standing.

Hence, sit-stand adjustable desks are important, even though just 1% of British office workers have such desks, compared with 90% in Scandinavia.

However, the CBI gave some cautious response to the study. "Companies will generally take a commonsense approach, and offices can be redesigned to encourage different ways of working, but ultimately firms will seek to balance the practicalities of time spent away from desks with the needs of the business," a spokesman said.

Dr Ann Hoskins, of Public Health England, lauded the study but said "more research needs to be carried out before daily targets for work place activity are recommended".