Featured Review: Workplace interventions for reducing time spent sitting at work

Health effects of sit-stand desks and interventions aimed to reduce sitting at work are still unproven.Millions of people worldwide sit at a desk all day, and over recent years this has led to increased levels of physical inactivity in the work place. Health experts have warned that long periods of sitting can increase the risk of heart disease and obesity. There are a number of different approaches to reduce the amount of time we spend sitting down while at work. One option that is increasing in popularity is the sit-stand desk. These are desks that are designed to allow you to work at your desk sitting down or standing up.A team ofCochrane Workresearchers updated a systematic review that looked at the effects of different strategies to encourage people to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting at work. They looked at 34 studies with a total of 3,397 participants from high income studies. This was an increase from 20 studies when they last updated the Cochrane Review in 2016. They included evidence from both randomized and non-randomized studies.Although sit-stand desks are popular, their potential health benefits are very uncertain. The researchers found very low-quality evidence that people who used sit-stand desks sat between 84   to 116 minutes less, compared to when they used conventional desks during the working day. Sit-stand desks also reduced total sitting time, both at work and outside work, and the durations of sitting episodes that last 30 minutes or longe...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news