There's a lot of hype surrounding the dangers of sitting for prolonged periods of time and the rise in the use of standing desks in offices (we wrote an article about these here).
Whilst we think anything that means you spend less time sitting on your bum is a good thing (we can vouch that stand up working is awesome), recent research suggests that when it comes to getting the best benefits for your health and body and increasing energy expenditure, there really is no comparison to moving more.
Recent research conducted by the Journal of Physical Activity and Health conducted an experiment to investigate the impact of sitting, standing and walking on healthy individuals.
In terms of energy expenditure, the study found that although standing expended slightly more energy than sitting, substituting periods of sitting or standing with walking significantly increased calorie burn by three times.
As always though, burning energy is just one piece of the puzzle. It's always better to avoid sitting as much as possible as it helps avoid damage to joints, chronic pain and can help lower your heart rate. Stand up working also is a great catalyst to moving more, as you'll naturally find yourself walking around when your'e taking calls etc.
The takeaway? Move as much as possible! If you work in an office, start with stand up working, make sure you get out at lunchtime and workout or go for a walk, take the stairs instead of the lift or even suggest walking meetings with your colleagues!
