Standing desk health benefits may not stand the test of time, study finds

A stock photo of someone working in an office. (Pexels/Marc Mueller)

Office workers around the world have embraced standing desks as a passive way to improve their health, though the concrete benefits may not stand up to scrutiny, new research from the University of Sydney has found.

Published this month, the study examined accelerometer data on 83,000 people from the United Kingdom-based health database, U.K. Biobank, reviewing time spent sitting and standing, comparing for rates of major cardiovascular and circulatory disease.

Study subjects wore what the university called "research-grade wrist-worn wearables similar to a smartwatch."

During a roughly seven-year period of data, researchers found that remaining stationary for more than 12 hours per day was associated with higher risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke, but did not find a notable relationship that was particular to standing.

Instead, extended time standing was associated with a measurable increase in risk for orthostatic circulatory conditions, such as varicose veins, hypotension and venous ulcers. This was also true for sitting.

“The key takeaway is that standing for too long will not offset an otherwise sedentary lifestyle and could be risky for some people in terms of circulatory health," Matthew Ahmadi, lead author of the study, said in a University of Sydney release.

That's not to say that there's zero difference in risk between sitting and standing, though. Sitting time that exceeded 12 hours per day had a slightly higher rate of increased risk per hour compared with stationary time in general, and the published journal article notes that the "deleterious associations of overall stationary time were primarily driven by sitting."

Even so, the study concludes that "findings indicate increasing standing time as a prescription may not lower major (cardiovascular disease) risk and may lead to higher orthostatic circulatory disease risk."

Instead, researchers recommend setting aside time to move around throughout the day.

"Walk around, go for a walking meeting, use the stairs, take regular breaks when driving long distances," said study co-author Emmanuel Stamatakis.

"Use that lunch hour to get away from the desk and do some movement."

Prior research by the pair and their colleagues has found that a daily 30 minutes of at-least moderate exercise, or even just six minutes of vigorous movement, could help reduce heart risks for otherwise highly sedentary people.

Standing the test of time

This isn't the first time the relative health benefits of behinds in seats and boots on the ground have been pondered.

For years, the mantra "sitting is the new smoking" has spread through office culture, giving rise to a trend in functional furniture that Harvard Medical School editor Robert H. Shmerling called "all the rage" in a 2016 blog post examining the associated health claims.

Citing then-recent research in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Shmerling noted that in active testing, healthy research subjects displayed a 10 per cent increase in calories burned standing, rather than sitting, while walking burned between two and three times as much.

"Other potential health benefits of a standing desk are assumed based on the finding that long hours of sitting are linked with a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer … (and) premature death," Shmerling wrote.

"But 'not sitting' can mean many different things — walking, pacing, or just standing."

The University of Sydney release concurs with Shmerling on the popularity of upright workstations, eight years on from his article, as well as his hesitation in jumping to conclusions with certainty.

"Standing has gained popularity among people looking to offset the harms of a sedentary lifestyle often caused by spending long days sitting in front of the computer, television or driving wheel," the release reads.

"However, their efforts may not produce the intended result."