Abstract
Objective: This study was conducted to determine whether installation of sit-stand desks (SSDs) could lead to decreased sitting time during the workday among sedentary office workers. Methods: A randomized cross-over trial was conducted from January to April, 2012 at a business in Minneapolis. 28 (nine men, 26 full-time) sedentary office workers took part in a 4 week intervention period which included the use of SSDs to gradually replace 50% of sitting time with standing during the workday. Physical activity was the primary outcome. Mood, energy level, fatigue, appetite, dietary intake, and productivity were explored as secondary outcomes. Results: The intervention reduced sitting time at work by 21% (95% CI 18%–25%) and sedentary time by 4.8 min/work-hr (95% CI 4.1–5.4 min/work-hr). For a 40 h work-week, this translates into replacement of 8 h of sitting time with standing and sedentary time being reduced by 3.2 h. Activity level during non-work hours did not change. The intervention also increased overall sense of well-being, energy, decreased fatigue, had no impact on productivity, and reduced appetite and dietary intake. The workstations were popular with the participants. Conclusion: The SSD intervention was successful in increasing work-time activity level, without changing activity level during non-work hours.
Highlights
IntroductionGiven that the average person sleeps 8.5 h/day, there are 15.5 waking h/day, or 108.5 total waking h/week [2]
Physical activity (PA) guidelines call for 2.5 h of moderate intensity aerobic exercise and some muscle strengthening training per week—In total, about 3.5 h per week of purposeful exercise [1].Given that the average person sleeps 8.5 h/day, there are 15.5 waking h/day, or 108.5 total waking h/week [2]
One participant missed most of the control period due to illness and was excluded from the rest of the study, leaving 28 participants for analysis. 28 participants (19 female) took part in the study who were on average 40.4 years of age, with mean body mass index of 25.6 (SD = 4.7), and average work schedule of 36.8 (SD = 5.6) hours per week
Summary
Given that the average person sleeps 8.5 h/day, there are 15.5 waking h/day, or 108.5 total waking h/week [2]. This leaves, even for a person who meets exercise guidelines, 105 h/week when one is not purposefully exercising or sleeping. Decreasing sedentary time and increasing light activity during the waking hours may be a critical component of body weight regulation and chronic disease risk [4]. People who spend most of their waking hours in sedentary time are at higher risk for adverse health outcomes, even if they exercise the same amount as those with less sedentary lifestyle [5,6]. Very recently have experimental studies attempted to replace sitting time with standing in natural environments of the workplace and classroom [12,13,14,15]
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