How working while standing aids health

Employees who spend half of an eight-hour working day standing use 13% more energy than colleagues who are seated, a new study has found.

Employees who spend half of an eight-hour working day standing use 13% more energy than colleagues who are seated, a new study has found.

Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Professor David Dunstan led the study, measuring the energy expenditure of 20 desk-based workers over two weeks. During an average five-day working week, the extra energy used to stand for four hours a day equated to a 45-minute brisk walk.

“This is a small increment but it’s significant if you consider the difference over a working week,” Dunstan has said. “If people change their workplace environment and they were also meeting their regular exercise goals, it would have a positive effect on their health.”

Recent research found people who spend most of their days sitting may not ward off heart disease, even if they exercise for 30 minutes a day as recommended.