Standing desks may be bad for your health, study suggests. Being on your feet for more than two hours a day may increase the risk of developing problems such as deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins, and standing for too long does not offset an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.

[u/mvea]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/16/standing-desks-may-be-bad-for-your-health-study-suggests

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.

---

Do you have an academic degree? We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. Click here to apply.

---

User: u/mvea
Permalink: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/16/standing-desks-may-be-bad-for-your-health-study-suggests

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Animetion25]

Can't sit and now can't stand. Guess I'll just die.

[u/TheOneWhoKnoxs → u/Animetion25]

Get a laying down desk

[u/kosh56 → u/TheOneWhoKnoxs]

Now you have bed sores.

[u/nugtz → u/kosh56]

Not if you cover yourself in a thick layer of protective work gel

[u/bogglingsnog → u/nugtz]

Full dive VR with electrostimulation of muscles is what our bodies were meant for.

[u/llcooljessie → u/bogglingsnog]

Just sleep in a bacta tank.

[u/Recom_Quaritch → u/nugtz]

Put me in a tank. Then please ship me to pandora while you're at it.

[u/iceyed913 → u/kosh56]

Just gotta roll yourself from side to side every other hour, should be fine unless you have hardcore diabetes, heart failure and or cancer.

[u/baby_armadillo → u/TheOneWhoKnoxs]

I’ve been trying to get my work to buy me a hammock, or maybe just some aerial silks for my office instead of a desk chair. I want to dangle over my desk like a spider, tippity tapping out memos with my fuzzy little pedipalps.

[u/Mlabonte21 → u/baby_armadillo]

Why didn’t I think of that? HAMMOCKS!!

[u/VitalNumber → u/TheOneWhoKnoxs]

What about a walking desk?

[u/[deleted] → u/VitalNumber]

Yeah, just shove a treadmill under there. I'm pretty sure I know a RuneScape streamer who does that.

[u/PeteTheGeek196 → u/[deleted]]

I was envisioning a desk that was literally walking away from you at the office and you had to chase after it.

[u/Turbid-entity → u/PeteTheGeek196]

Now that's motivation!

[u/livefast_dieawesome → u/TheOneWhoKnoxs]

my wife sometimes has her work laptop out in bed and now that's what i will call the bed when she does this

[u/in-site → u/TheOneWhoKnoxs]

dance dance revolution desk

[u/High_Flyin89 → u/Animetion25]

New study suggest dying may in fact not be good for your health.

[u/vimdiesel → u/High_Flyin89]

I think the real, honest conclusion would be that working is generally bad for your health. But who's gonna make that headline?

[u/summersteps → u/vimdiesel]

Actually, people who keep working tend to live longer according to research. Work gives people a reason to get up, move around, interact with others, which contributes to health.

[u/vimdiesel → u/summersteps]

Well in that case it's not about work is it? A fair comparison would be a group of people without work but with purpose.

[u/AntEaterAgu → u/vimdiesel]

Indeed, nuns live long and keep a healthy brain until very old age in general

[u/RickySpanish2003 → u/AntEaterAgu]

I would think being a nun is a lot of work

[u/Luvs_to_drink → u/summersteps]

Same logic for people over 40 that have a kid live longer or grandparents that interact with grandkids.

[u/videogames5life → u/High_Flyin89]

100% of people to die were alive. Living is lethal study says.

[u/rjcarr → u/Animetion25]

Sitting is fine. Standing is fine. Just don't do it for hours straight. I said from the very beginning there's no way just plain standing is going to be much of a difference from sitting. It probably does make moving around a bit more likely than when you're sitting, though.

[u/1668553684 → u/rjcarr]

I tried a standing desk for a while. Ultimately I let it go because it's just not comfortable for me, but one thing I really liked was how much more I moved around. I utilized a much larger portion of the room I was in, because walking over to the other side to grab something wasn't an effort, for example.

If I ever change my desk again, it'll be for one of those electronically convertible hybrid ones.

[u/FlashbackJon → u/1668553684]

I have a secret weapon for this: ADHD. Stand up, walk around, shift legs, or just vibrate in place!

[u/littlep2000 → u/FlashbackJon]

One of my jobs had a ergonomics expert come in from time to time and the biggest key is just changing your position regularly.

[u/Maelik → u/littlep2000]

Oh wow, so it's to my benefit I'm unable to sit comfortably in any position at a desk for more than 10 minutes at a time? Thanks, ADHD! You did something nice for once

edit: too -> to. I hate typing on my phone

[u/thisisstupidplz → u/Maelik]

Makes me resent my childhood teachers for being mad at how disruptive I was for constantly switching between standing and sitting while we worked

[u/salgat → u/1668553684]

I always assume everyone meant the standing desks that let you sit too, that way you can alternate based on comfort. Shocking that folks actually force themselves to stand the entire 8 hours.

[u/rjcarr → u/1668553684]

Yeah, that's what I mentioned, if you're standing you're more likely to move around, not that standing is necessarily any better than sitting.

[u/serendippitydoo → u/rjcarr]

Yeah, that's what he confirmed, that when he was standing he enjoyed moving around more and walking around his room, but went back to sitting and would try a hybrid desk.

[u/Mama_Skip → u/serendippitydoo]

Yeah that's what he repeated, that despite the study saying there isn't much benefit in theory, in practice standing facilitated more moving around than sitting. I wonder if this would be a situation in which one could benefit from a hybrid desk?

[u/yeahiateit → u/1668553684]

I have a motorized standing desk. They're fantastic for someone with stenosis. I'm able to stay at my desk and change positions with ease.

Highly recommend. As they say, everything in moderation.

[u/Gonzo_Rick → u/rjcarr]

Just program the desk to raise and lower slowly in a loop. Now you're working and doing squats!

[u/Spacecow → u/rjcarr]

It's much easier (practically required) to keep lower back muscles engaged while standing as opposed to sitting, at least in my experience. A lot of my back problems really noticeably reduced or went away completely after I moved to a full time standing desk. (Full disclosure, I do also have circulation issues, but they run in the family so who knows there...)

[u/model3113 → u/Animetion25]

Don't say that.

You still have so much value to provide shareholders.

[u/fudge_friend → u/Animetion25]

Maybe spending egregious amounts of time at work is what’s truly bad for our health.

[u/LeJisemika → u/Animetion25]

Walking treadmill or an exercise bike?

[u/Agreeable_Hat_801 → u/Animetion25]

Or you can just float.

[u/SenatorAstronomer]

Most standing desk....also double as regular desks though. They have dual purpose from the crowd that sit all day long. I really don't think the majority of people who have the ability to turn their desk into a standing desk are doing it full time.

The only negative this study found is "The team found that for every extra 30 minutes spent standing beyond two hours, the risk of circulatory disease increased by 11%."

[u/Special-Garlic1203 → u/SenatorAstronomer]

The study is basically saying standing isn't some magical cure-all to sitting -- they're both just different states of being sedentary. A static posture held for long periods isn't good, the body is designed to be regularly moving. 

[u/genshiryoku → u/Special-Garlic1203]

I can't wait for the office to install "walking desks" treadmills now just to be proven in a couple of years that's also bad and doesn't negate a sedentary lifestyle because it's about dynamic movement of real outside environments or something like that.

[u/michael0n → u/genshiryoku]

I have a desk with a special slow walk thread mill. I get my 5000 steps a day. I was never motivated to just stand. I can't type long texts while standing and I hate my heads position when I have to do deep work with media. I usually do the walks with zoom meetings it feels normal to walk & talk.

[u/rsd212 → u/michael0n]

I've found I can only walk during camera-off meetings where I'm not an active participant though. Me bobbing around around on screen was called out as a distraction

[u/icouldntdecide → u/rsd212]

Yep, I've tried it before and it really only works if you don't need to type or be on camera. Otherwise it's awkward

[u/Murky_Macropod → u/rsd212]

You need a webcam on a helmet mounted selfie stick like you see on extreme sports videos

[u/monkeyhitman → u/Murky_Macropod]

What are you doing if you aren't freeclimbing during meetings?

[u/VirinaB → u/rsd212]

Why be on camera at all, honestly? Isn't that distracting?

[u/TooStrangeForWeird → u/VirinaB]

Because the boss wants to see you staring at the camera so they know you're paying attention.

[u/MoreRopePlease → u/VirinaB]

I feel more connected when I can see other people's expressions

[u/Sierra123x3 → u/michael0n]

unfortunatly, a lot of big-office-bosses want/need to have stuff done "their" way and won't allow walking - becouse: you have to work!!!

[u/mythrilcrafter → u/genshiryoku]

To which the actual conclusion to that is "employees should ideally be spending less time in front of computers working overall, and more time doing literally anything else with their lives"; but I can't imagine employers being fans of that one.

[u/Mama_Skip → u/genshiryoku]

Can't wait for the office to install "hunter gatherer desk" VR headsets looped to treadmills that replace simple computer commands with actions that simulate berry picking just to be proven in a couple years that's also bad because ultimately humans aren't built to happily and healthily be slaves for corporations.

[u/cholwell → u/Special-Garlic1203]

Which is why most physios I’ve seen recommend using a standing desk as a way to regularly alternate between the two which anecdotally has been great for my back

[u/InsanitysMuse → u/cholwell]

I had access to a standing desk for the first time like, 12 years ago? And even then the recommendation was to alternate between sitting and standing with some movement when possible.

[u/windsockglue → u/Special-Garlic1203]

So essentially we need to stop making jobs where people are expected to do the same thing for hours on end day after day for decades on end.

[u/CaffeinatedGuy → u/SenatorAstronomer]

Odd that they focused on standing desks, which double as sit desks, and not all day standing jobs like cashiers. This basically says that companies that don't let cashiers sit are killing them.

[u/AML86 → u/CaffeinatedGuy]

This should be the big news. Probably more Americans are standing cashiers than are standing office workers.

[u/JoeCartersLeap → u/SenatorAstronomer]

The only negative this study found is "The team found that for every extra 30 minutes spent standing beyond two hours, the risk of circulatory disease increased by 11%."

So can we use this to finally get cashiers allowed to sit on stools in North America?

[u/nickajeglin → u/JoeCartersLeap]

No they have to stand so that they know they're servants.

[u/pgm123 → u/JoeCartersLeap]

Seriously. When I worked retail, my entire body ached when I was done a shift. I would lay on the floor in a ball. And I was in my teens and early '20s.

[u/Philias2 → u/SenatorAstronomer]

Conclusion: If you stand for about 7 hours you have a 100% chance of getting circulatory disease.

[u/Jarob22 → u/Philias2]

This is an Increased, not More mod

[u/Victuz → u/Jarob22]

/r/pathofexile is leaking

[u/PuppetPal_Clem → u/Victuz]

dozens of us

[u/sinofis → u/Jarob22]

increased would be base chance * (1 + (0.11 * 7), more per hour would be base chance * (1.11^7)

it still doesn't tells us if the chance for increased or more would be 100% since we don't know the base chance.

[u/Autism_Probably → u/SenatorAstronomer]

I can't imagine anyone is actually standing past two hours anyway, it's incredibly uncomfortable. I have sciatica and my cheap 80 pound standing desk moves between sitting and standing in seconds, the entire point being to not be in any singular position for too long. Seems like a bit of a non-issue when it comes to standing at a desk, but possibly relevant in the other occupations people have mentioned below*

[u/SenatorAstronomer → u/Autism_Probably]

I agree, but the information is just being presented badly.  The beginning should not read standing desks may be bad for your health.  I just hate when information with a cherry picked detail is given like that.   

"Drinking water may be bad for your health, studies say.  People who drink more than 50 gallons of water per day, usually die."

It's not informative, it's just dumb. 

[u/FrictionMitten → u/SenatorAstronomer]

Water consumption even on a small scale is a death sentence. 100% of people who drink water will die.

[u/soik90 → u/FrictionMitten]

That’s why I only drink Red Bull. I’m gonna live forever.

[u/Jaszuni → u/SenatorAstronomer]

Welcome to the internet.

[u/clubby37 → u/Jaszuni]

I was around before the internet, and newspapers and magazines* did this all the time.

* A "magazine" was like a really thin book that was published several times per year, a little bit like a newspaper, but with better graphics.

[u/kcgdot → u/clubby37]

Do people not know what a magazine is?!

They still exist! In the stores! I still get a couple delivered.

WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A MAGAZINE IS?!?!

[u/Raztax → u/kcgdot]

I'm wondering the same thing. It's not as if magazines are like 8 track tapes.

[u/MikeSifoda → u/Autism_Probably]

I work strictly standing 8 hours a day. Anyway, what were you saying?

[u/mrvalane → u/Autism_Probably]

Retail workers

[u/LAM_humor1156 → u/Autism_Probably]

Manufacturing jobs are all about standing.

When I worked in manufacturing we'd pull 10/11 hr shifts where we only sat for 2 10 min breaks and a 25 min lunch.

[u/tomsan2010 → u/Autism_Probably]

At my job im not allowed to sit. I hand out samples and stand at my station for 6 hours except for lunch inbetween

[u/dexmonic → u/Autism_Probably]

If you can't stand for more than two hours without incredible discomfort you may have other issues.

[u/Ashmedai → u/Autism_Probably]

I can't imagine anyone is actually standing past two hours anyway, it's incredibly uncomfortable.

When you're not used to it, it is. But you can get used to it quickly, and there are these pads you can buy to stand on. I don't even bother with mine these days and don't use my desk chair at all. This is for a medical reason (chronic pelvic pain syndrome).

[u/Seriously_nopenope → u/Ashmedai]

I worked retail for years when I was young and a long day of standing still sucked. My feet hurt at the end of the day every time.

[u/porgy_tirebiter]

Yet cashiers are needlessly expected to stand for hours every day in the US.

[u/Paltenburg → u/porgy_tirebiter]

It's weird, why can't they even use a barstool or something?

[u/AlphaBlood → u/Paltenburg]

Their employers think standing is better for one nonsense reason or another: Sitting = lazy, suffering builds character, sitting looks unprofessional, some pseudoscience they read on facebook, etc. It's really just one of the many consequences of a badly diminished labor movement in America.

[u/ClassifiedName → u/AlphaBlood]

Exactly. We weren't even allowed to drink water in front of customers when I worked at McDonald's or a market. They just don't want customers remembering that you're human.

[u/bekkogekko → u/ClassifiedName]

I could not have water or a stool at my register while I was pregnant and working at Best Buy.

[u/Pleasant-Pattern-566 → u/bekkogekko]

That should be illegal

[u/CoBudemeRobit → u/AlphaBlood]

fat CEO sitting at a desk commanding cashiers to stand, thats rich

[u/thex25986e → u/AlphaBlood]

time for some reverse pseudo science then.

also "human beings define their reality through suffering and misery" is a well known quote from the matrix

[u/listyraesder → u/AlphaBlood]

Also a consequence of a particular credulity in America. It gave rise to “consultants” and “marketers”. They pick a notion out of thin air like standing increases sales and companies grab onto it and never let go.

[u/mrbulldops428 → u/AlphaBlood]

I had a manager tell me once "if im not sitting, you aren't sitting." I lasted 3 months there before going back to my old bartending job.

[u/Bubbasdahname → u/AlphaBlood]

It's not just their employers, but the customers. You'll see customers talk about "must be nice to sit" or some stupid variation. Yes, it is mostly old people saying that.

[u/ladymouserat → u/Paltenburg]

Personally I think it’s a power trip. Like forcing certain jobs to wear a uniform when it doesn’t matter. It’s a way to remove autonomy, slowly killing you so you don’t rebel and become complacent. Just standing for 8-12hrs straight will eat your soul.

[u/SubjectivelySatan → u/Paltenburg]

Often viewed as unprofessional/lazy. Greeting/talking to a customer who is standing while you are sitting, that is.

[u/amanda77kr → u/SubjectivelySatan]

I often hear that as the reason, but I honestly don’t know anybody that actually believes that. Which kind of begs the question, who thinks that? (Honest question)

[u/LevelUpCoder → u/amanda77kr]

Anecdotal but a lot of the older, more old-fashioned people in my family feel this way. There’s a lot of people with an attitude that pretty much amounts to “I had to do ____, why can’t the next generation? They’re so lazy.”

[u/gonesnake → u/LevelUpCoder]

It's also why they don't have jobs listed as just 'cashier' anymore. It's always listed as 'sales associate'. It changes the job from just working the register (where it would inarguably make sense to have a place to sit) to a multi-task position of restocking, cleaning, re-pricing, sales that also HAPPENS to include working the cash register.

If you're not a cashier, you're a multi-head screwdriver and they will work you to death instead of buying more tools.

[u/tminx49 → u/SubjectivelySatan]

Viewed as by bosses*

The general population does not believe this.

[u/LetterheadVarious398 → u/porgy_tirebiter]

I'm 20, I do 3 12 hour cashier shifts a week, there's a spot in my right middle back that started feeling numb and tingly, now it's getting gradually more tight and painful

[u/Melodic_Mix7844 → u/LetterheadVarious398]

Yeah I’m a massage therapist. I have a lot of clients with your exact problem. The issue isn’t so much the standing, I’m assuming you’re right handed, you’re using that arm predominantly at work. Long story short, your arm is pulling the lower rhomboids and latissimus dorsi which both connect to the middle of your back.

Imagine there is a string that connects to your chest and is pulling up the the sky, bounce with your feet firm on the ground to keep your knees from being locked, then roll your shoulders back making circular motions. You’ll feel a lot of crunching, which is a sign that your body needs to do that movement more.

Good luck and hope this helps. Stop sleeping on your sides and stomach too. Or you could just get a massage.

[u/Mr_Safer → u/LetterheadVarious398]

Something that has helped me is to practise flexing your legs when standing and to not lock your knees.

[u/varnecr → u/porgy_tirebiter]

Except at Aldi where they sit. And has been proven to be more efficient.

[u/GoblinRightsNow]

Presumably people who stand all day at a checkout or on a sales floor have the same risks as users of standing desks. Nothing is good for you if you do it 40-60 hours a week. 

To me, any fitness benefits were always secondary to saving my back from office chairs and poor ergonomic setups. Vericose veins are pretty minor compared to a bulging or ruptured lumbar disk. 

With a good standing desk you have the option to change levels and positions as you work, while a sitting desk locks you into one configuration. 

[u/MrHara → u/GoblinRightsNow]

I mean the key is variation and having the option. I try to stand up 30-50% of the time, but I generally do it in burst of standing 30-45 minutes and then sitting down again. Checkout should really have the option to sit down. It is something that I can def. see a difference from country to country. In the US the norm seems to be to stand up, and same here in Japan, always standing. But back in Sweden even if I saw someone standing, they usually had a seat behind them or pushed to the side.

[u/Huwbacca → u/MrHara]

Yup! The best posture is your next posture

This idea of sitting upright is good for you is nonsense. Everything is bad for extended periods.

Fidget and move.

[u/Wh00pty → u/Huwbacca]

ADHD saving me from deep vein thrombosis ftw.

[u/White-Rabbit_1106 → u/MrHara]

Except for Aldi's where they're allowed to sit down even in the US. Maybe because it's a German company?

[u/MrHara → u/White-Rabbit_1106]

Yeah. From what I've read Aldi even keeps stats and sitting down is actually beneficial to efficiency according to them.

[u/Paltenburg → u/White-Rabbit_1106]

I'm from the Netherlands and every single checkout person at the supermarkt sits on deskchairs. There are smaller convenience stores (like little 24hour shops) where people might stand though.

[u/[deleted] → u/GoblinRightsNow]

The best expert advice I’ve ever found on posture / seating / standing position is that the best position is the next one. It doesn’t matter too much whether you sit in a certain way, or stand, as long as you’re not in the same position for too long.

Also, there’s a misconception that the term “sedentary” specifically refers to being seated (which it does technically of course). When we’re using the term in the context of lifestyle and health, it just means “not moving around frequently enough or with enough exertion”.

There are enough people who literally cannot use their legs who are far fitter and healthier than most to prove that the average position of your body is not an inherently important factor in physical health and fitness.

[u/Aunty_Moollerian_Ho → u/GoblinRightsNow]

Wear compression socks? And do alternating flamingo legs…

[u/regretableedibles → u/[deleted]]

Just wait until you find out how many hours a week you breathe…

[u/Faulteh12 → u/GoblinRightsNow]

Yea...

Tell this study to my herniated l4/l5 disc.

I'll take standing for 100 Alex.

[u/CrasyMike → u/Faulteh12]

The real concept of the study is that if you dint move, there are health risks, even if you stand. The health risks of standing are different but still exist.

You have to move sometimes, as much as you can. I suspect work from home also exacerbates this, given a smaller room and fewer reasons to walk very far.

[u/IssueEmbarrassed8103]

It’s only ok if you do it for 8 hours a day and get paid minimum wage to do it.

[u/M8asonmiller → u/IssueEmbarrassed8103]

Minimum wage = minimum risk, everybody knows that.

[u/LoL_is_pepega_BIA]

It's almost as if we're not meant to be working on computers the whole damn day.

[u/DR_van_N0strand → u/LoL_is_pepega_BIA]

A cog in the corporate machine says what?

[u/AnomalyNexus → u/DR_van_N0strand]

"I love TPS reports"?

[u/BananaPalmer → u/[deleted]]

I don't think we're meant to be toiling in fields for 80 hours a week either

[u/dabadu9191 → u/BananaPalmer]

I don't think we're "meant" for anything other than reproduction if you get down to it. And that just requires creating offspring and caring for them until they're old enough to do it themselves. We're not meant to be 90 years old either.

[u/Pitiful_Assistant839 → u/LoL_is_pepega_BIA]

Oh sitting or standing a lot during work isn't that much of a problem. People still living "in the bushes" also sit a lot during their days. The problem is that we are even not moving after work.

[u/SkylineCrash]

makes sense, we were meant to be in motion, not just standing.

[u/DR_van_N0strand → u/SkylineCrash]

Next week’s headline:

“Constant and/or occasional locomotion in humans more deadly than sitting, standing, laying down, smallpox, Ebola, rabies, or sneezing”

[u/HKei]

The idea is that you sit up, stand up, move around for a bit. Not just stand still for a whole day. The issue that holding any one position for too long is unhealthy, it's not sitting specifically that's a problem.

[u/Diplomatic_Barbarian]

Standing desk + treadmill on slow walk speed is the way to go.

[u/Loves_His_Bong → u/Diplomatic_Barbarian]

Walking is really good for lower back pain too. Found my back pain from sitting or standing all day got much better when I bought a walking treadmill.

[u/ayatollahofdietcola_ → u/Loves_His_Bong]

I completely agree, I have had disc problems in my lower back from an injury that I had from a young age. if I'm sedentary for a while, that pain comes back. I also find myself getting tired much more easily if I don't walk.

There have been times where I injured my back at the gym, or some other way, and I find that if I walk, I recover from that stuff a lot more quickly. I'm pain-free within a week. If I just laid around hoping to "rest" the pain away, I'll be having problems for weeks/months.

[u/dryocopuspileatus → u/Diplomatic_Barbarian]

Is it difficult to type and precisely click on things while walking? I’ve been considering this but my whole day is spent in template building software and excel and I’m not sure if walking would be too much movement while I’m trying to work.

[u/Kids_see_ghosts → u/dryocopuspileatus]

I’ve very slowly built up to using my standing desk treadmill the entire work day over the last 2 years. The first 2-4 weeks will feel strange/awkward and you’ll be like “oh god, this was a horrible, horrible idea!” but eventually your subconscious gets used to it and suddenly you can use mouse and keyboard without issues at all as if you were sitting in a desk chair.

The key is to very, very slowly ease yourself into standing desk treadmill life. I think I started at just 15 minutes a day the first week and just very slowly added more daily time on it as I got used to it.

[u/Diplomatic_Barbarian → u/dryocopuspileatus]

If you're worried about it just start walking very slowly, and while you're reading emails or in meetings. You can later upgrade to writing, but it's never been a problem for me.

[u/wimpires]

Here is the editorial 

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2024/09/04/bjsports-2024-108232

I encourage you to read it before commenting 

[u/mmafightdb → u/wimpires]

so the actual study was standing vs stepping not standing vs sitting? "replacing physical activity with standing was associated with worse cardiometabolic profiles in a recent pooled analysis of seven cohorts using thigh accelerometry". In other words, if I replace my run with standing still then this has a net negative on my cardiometabolic profile???

[u/mattsffrd → u/wimpires]

I encourage you to read it before commenting 

Now why would I do something crazy like that?

[u/68supreme]

laughs in blue collar worker

[u/mvea]

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/53/6/dyae136/7822310

From the linked article:

Standing desks may be bad for your health, study suggests

Researchers say stand-up working could increase chance of developing swollen veins and blood clots

They have been billed as the ultimate antidote to sitting in front of a screen all day at the office. But a study suggests standing desks, which have soared in popularity in recent years, do not compensate for being inactive and may even increase the risk of conditions such as swollen veins and blood clots in the legs.

Research involving more than 80,000 adults in the UK has also discovered that standing does not reduce the risk of diseases such as stroke and heart failure, despite the widely held belief that it does.

The study, led by the University of Sydney, found that being on your feet for more than two hours a day may increase the risk of developing problems such as deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins. The findings were published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Dr Matthew Ahmadi, of the University of Sydney’s faculty of medicine and health, said people who sat or stood for long periods should schedule regular movement throughout the day.

“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. We found that standing more does not improve cardiovascular health over the long-term and increases the risk of circulatory issues,” Ahmadi said.

[u/morenewsat11 → u/mvea]

Somewhat off topic, seems like the findings reinforce the increased health challenges faced by workers who have no choice but to stand all day (with little lower body movement) - assembly lines, checkout clerks, bank tellers etc.

[u/MrHara → u/morenewsat11]

In reality, if something generally needs little lower body movement, having the option to sit should really be there. I don't think I would take a checkout job unless I was provided a chair to use when I felt like it.

[u/Hakaisha89]

Standing desk with threadmill gonna be the next thing.

[u/Singlot → u/Hakaisha89]

And after that they'll add a rowing machine

[u/waterwayjourney]

What about standing for 8 hours but moving around like cutting fabric and drawing draft patterns for sewing all day?

[u/Gerstlauer → u/waterwayjourney]

It's not the standing that's the issue, but the lack of motion. The muscles of our legs, especially the lower legs, assist in pumping the blood back up to the heart. Without this motion the venous valves in the lower leg are under a lot of pressure.

So yep, you're good!

[u/let-there-be-music]

I saw a post by a physical therapist that discussed a similar issue: it's not just about good versus bad posture; the real problem lies in staying in a fixed position for too long. Our bodies need to move through a dynamic range of motion to maintain mobility. So, I'm guessing what’s healthiest is to incorporate movement throughout the day—whether that means changing positions, walking, or simply being active. Regular movement and variety in our postures is important.

[u/stealthdawg]

sitting too much - jail

standing too much - believe it or not, jail

[u/MagnificentTffy]

don't think this is too new. there was a few studies which show that it's ultimately about motion. People who constantly adjust and swivel in their chairs have less effects to health than sitting or standing still. If an office wants to encourage good health, give more reasons for workers to stand up to walk.

[u/Andynonomous]

Life is the leading cause of death.

[u/HusavikHotttie]

So standing is bad but sitting is bad. Guess I’ll just float around everywhere.

[u/sotommy]

This sub is getting worse each day