Standing desks are unlikely to make workers healthier, a new study has found.
Researchers concluded sit-stand desks have little benefit to the health of workers as on average they spent just an extra hour a day away from their chairs.
The desks, used apparently by former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield, became popular as a way of tackling sedentary habits.
The World Health Organisation’s cancer agency also recommended standing in the office as a way to reduce the risk of disease.
But researchers found that people who used standing desks sat between half an hour and an hour less in a day than those using conventional ones.
Desk treadmills and other pro-walking policies in the office make little or no difference, according to the Cochrane review.
Nipun Shrestha, of the health research and social development forum in Thapathali, Nepal, who led the study, said: “There is uncertainty over how big an impact sit-stand desks can make on reducing the time spent sitting at work in the short term.
“People who are considering investing in sit-stand desks and other interventions should be aware of the limitations of the current evidence base in demonstrating health benefits.”
Jos Verbeek, a co-author from the Cochrane work review group in Kuopio, Finland, said: “It is important that workers who sit at a desk all day take an interest in maintaining and improving their wellbeing.
“However, there is not enough high-quality evidence to determine whether spending more time standing at work can repair a sedentary lifestyle. Standing instead of sitting hardly increases energy expenditure.”
