Are standing desks better than sitting? Experts weigh in on how to ditch a sedentary lifestyle

Standing desks have been sold as a potential alternative for office workers to curb the adverse effects of prolonged sitting but how well do they really work?

Some claim standing desks can help with weight loss, lowering blood sugar levels, or even improving back pain. Yet the science isn’t as clear-cut as the marketing is.

Standing seems to have some perks over sitting, said Kévin Desbrosses, a researcher at the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS).

"Sedentary behaviour has a clear definition: it’s any sitting or lying position, while awake, prolonged in time with a very low energy expenditure," he told Euronews Health and standing does not count. 

“For humans, sitting is a resting position while standing is a position where they’re on alert,” he said, adding that while standing, people expend more energy and have better blood flow “as long as the posture isn’t prolonged too long”.

Matthew Ahmadi, a research fellow from the University of Sydney in Australia recentlyconducted a study looking into the impact of standing, sitting and stationary behaviour on cardiovascular health.

“Overall, what we found was standing was better than sitting. Although standing was not associated with a higher risk of heart disease, it was also not associated with a lower risk of heart disease,” he told Euronews Health.

“We found prolonged periods of standing were associated with higher risk of circulatory conditions such as varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis, due to prolonged time spent in a static posture causing blood pooling in the lower extremities,” he added.

Meanwhile, a study from the University of Turku in Finland published this month also showed that prolonged