Standing workplaces are no less harmful than sitting,

In recent years, standing workplaces have been presented as a counter to a sedentary lifestyle. Research shows that they are no less harmful than sitting at a desk.

Researchers from Australia and the Netherlands found that standing for long periods of time is not much better than sitting all the time. For about seven years, data from 83,013 adults were collected by the UK Biobank using wristworn devices to track activity, sleep, and time spent sitting. The amount of time spent standing and sitting was correlated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease, as well as circulatory disease.

The researchers found no association between standing time and the risk of cardiovascular disease. They suggest that standing at a desk may not be enough to avoid the health problems associated with sitting. Matthew Ahmadi of the University of Sydney suggests that many previous studies supporting standing have been based on «soft endpoints» such as improvements in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and triglyceride levels.

The new study focused on the «hard clinical endpoints» hospitalizations or death from related diseases. It found that whether people sat or stood for long periods of time, which they spent immobile, did not really matter for the cardiovascular system.

«More time spent sitting does not necessarily increase or decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. This was a null result. But it actually increases the risk of circulatory disease»,” Ahmadi says.

Standing for more than two hours a day increases this risk by 11% percent for each additional half hour, which is bad news for workers in the retail and standing desk industries. Not that sitting is much better: more than 10 hours of daily sitting and each additional hour increases the risk of circulatory disease by 26%.

The evidence suggests that lack of movement while sitting or standing increases the risk of orthostatic circulatory disease. Although the study’s sample size is unrivaled, it is worth noting that an observational study cannot prove that standing or sitting causes any of the diseases.

The researchers believe that the main conclusion is that standing alone cannot be considered a panacea for all diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

«Standing should be combined with other activities that make the body move. We do not see the risk of orthostatic diseases when someone is walking. We see it mainly when people stand still because blood accumulates in the lower extremities,», — summarizes Ahmadi.

Research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Source: ScienceAlert

Standing workplaces are no less harmful than sitting, — study