REAL LIFE NEWS: SEE, I TOLD YOU STANDING UP WASN’T BETTER FOR YOU AFTER ALL!
by Hazed
For the last few years we have all been told that spending large parts of the day sitting at a desk is really bad for you, leading to all kinds of nasty health problems, even if you are getting exercise outside of work. Standing up is much better, the experts said, leading to the installation of standing desks in many offices.
Now it turns out that sitting down all day is no worse for you than standing up, so long as you take regular exercise.
Researchers from Exeter University and University College London in the UK spent 16 years following more than 5,000 people and found there was no influence on their risk of dying from sitting at work, during leisure time or watching TV.
Melvyn Hillsdon, from Exeter’s sport and health sciences department, said: “Any stationary posture where energy expenditure is low may be detrimental to health, be it sitting or standing. The results cast doubt on the benefits of sit-stand work stations, which employers are increasingly providing to promote healthy working environments.”
So if you handed over large sums of money to a trendy furniture designer to buy yourself a rather uncomfortable-looking standing desk, you might as well have saved your money.
