Sitting vs. Standing: 5 Ways to Stay Fit at the Office

According to research from the University of Washington, while people are technically getting more exercise, we are not making much progress in losing weight.

The UW study reports that “Women’s activity levels jumped the highest from 2001-2009 from 46.7% to 51.3% with men overall moving up one percentage point keeping the lead at 57.8%”. The study showed that two-thirds of counties in the U.S. increased their activity levels, however obesity rates only declined in nine counties nationwide.

Some studies suggest that Americans’ sedentary lifestyles are a major contributing factor to obesity. According to Medical Billing and Coding, "sitting 6 or more hours a day makes you 40 percent likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than 3 hours a day."

After two hours of sitting, good cholesterol drops 20% and insulin effectiveness drops 24%. As soon as you sit, enzymes that help break down fat drop 90%.

Obese individuals sit for 2.5 hours more per day than lean individuals, according to a study in November 2009 Obesity and self-reported surveys from women show that sitting behavior (such as watching tv, commuting/driving, etc.) outside of the office is associated with negative mental health. (See infographic at the bottom of this post).

Companies Getting "NEAT"

Because of this dangerous problem, many companies have eliminated or supplemented office chairs with a number of non-sedentary alternatives, like standing desks, treadmill desks or exercise ball chairs.

For example, Steelcase, the largest manufacturer of office furniture, saw a five-fold increase in sales for its height-adjustable desks and treadmill desks between 2007 and 2012. Customers such as Google. Apple, Intel, and Boeing have purchased the desks for use in their corporate offices.

This trend is based on studies that show that sitting only burns 1 calorie per minute, whereas standing expends 10% more energy than sitting, chewing gum expends 15% more, walking expends 150% more and climbing stairs about 220% more energy.

Standing or walking at a desk can increase Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (“NEAT”), which according to the US National Library of Medicine, essentially is when your heart rate increases above normal resting levels from an activity that isn’t considered standard “exercise”. It can make up 50% of energy expenditure in some people, which can provide significant health benefits, such as weight loss and increased focus.

There have been many inventions that are designed to increase physical activity and fitness in the workplace, here is a list of options that can encourage personal fitness, wellness and employee productivity:

1. Treadmill Desks:

Treadmill desks, like the TrekDesk (pictured above) help employees stay active by walking (or standing) all day while they work.

According to Wikipedia, a treadmill desk is not typically used for a cardio workout, as most users find walking at a speed of 1–2 miles per hour the ideal range. According to a study by James Levine at the Mayo Clinic, users can burn an estimated 100-130 calories per hour at speeds slower than 2 miles per hour.

Treadmill desks are most often simple desk attachments for a basic treadmill.

Treadmill desks are designed to allow a person to walk while using his or her desktop or laptop at a stationary desk. Treadmills are sold separately or together in a package deal.

TrekDesk seems to no longer be available, however "TreadDesk" offers the treadmills and desk accessories either separately or together in packages. Packages of TreadDesk start at a sobering $2,240.

This model of treadmill desk from LifeSpan is fully integrated, coming with both a treadmill and a desk, is less expensive, but still pricey... it costs $1,500.

2. Exercise Ball Chairs:

Exercise balls are rumored to increase physical activity because they tone muscles while you sit.

However, these have been found to have very limited health benefits and actually deter good posture. I agree with this latter sentiment.

If you're a 200 LB man, like me, you may find yourself sitting on the floor, while your "exercise ball" is crying for mercy as it's being flattened like a pancake. Meanwhile you're as fat as ever, the ball isn't helping, and you're uncomfortable as hell.

Regardless, many people are bringing them to work for use as office chairs, hoping to avoid some of the negative effects of traditional sitting.

In fact, Nakano Chemical in Japan, a manufacturer of hair gels and sprays, has replaced most of its office chairs with exercise balls.

Exercise balls are also becoming more common in schools. According to Michelle Rowe at the Kinney Center for Autism at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, exercise ball chairs were first used for kids with autism, and now they are becoming more popular for students of all kinds. For example, the fifth grade class at Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School in West Chester, Pennsylvania uses them, because teacher Robbi Giuliano believes they promote productivity.

Sure, if I weighed 50 LBS, I might enjoy bouncing up and down on a balloon too.

If you’re interested in an exercise ball chair, there are many models in the $70-80 range. You can purchase the balls separately, or a ball with a stand, such as this Gaiam Balance Ball Chair for $80 -95.

3. Standing Desks:

Standing desks can be adjustable or static. Adjustable ones can be raised for standing or lowered for sitting.

The UpDesk is an example of an adjustable desk that uses an electric, automatic button to raise and lower the desk. You can also get a manually adjustable one that works with a hand crank. UpDesks are expensive, ranging from $699 for the manual version to over $1,299 for ergonomically shaped desks that raise or lower automatically.

Similarly, ErgoDepot offers standing desks with electric adjustments. Their one-leg desks start at $559, and their three-leg desks start at $1,329.

While these desks are pretty high-end, there are cheaper alternatives for adjustable desks. For example, this Safco desk with manual adjustable height is only about $300 on Amazon.

For an even less expensive method, you can also convert your sitting desk to a standing desk with a relatively cheap “lectern” type add-on. The Speedy Standing Portable Desk retails for $79.99 on Amazon, and has positive reviews. These desk converters are simply another surface that you can rest on top of your current desk, which will allow you to put the items on top and stand.

Whenever there is a dearth of choice in a market, you'll find hacks online. Sadly standing desks are rare, so you may want to convert your own desk to a standing desk with this method for only $28 by building it yourself. The above DIY video shows you how to do it with an IKEA desk.

4. Bicycle Desks:

Bicycle desks are stationary bikes that have a desk attachment, so you can pedal while you work. For example, the FitDesk offers a range of desks and accessories that are much more affordable than the standing desks above.

Accessories start at $99.00 and go up to $299.99 for a full exercise bike with a desktop attachment.

The top of the line is a stationary bike designed to hold your laptop, so you can exercise while you work. Just 15 minutes of biking 2.5 miles twice per day can burn 10 pounds per year.

For a cheaper alternative, you can use a small bike pedal exerciser below your desk. This model from DeskCycle sells for $149 on Amazon.

5. Other Options...

In addition to these office fixtures, many publications have suggested ways to exercise at a standard desk.

Check out WebMD’s exercise aerobics, as well as Jacquelyn Smith's “Best Exercises to Do at Your Desk”. These PopSugar strength training and Fitness and "How Stuff Works" Fit & Health articles even gives you stealthy ways to exercise at your desk without anyone noticing...

Aside from the cost, we believe the most effective "exercise at work" options are the treadmill desk or bicycle desks, because walking expends 150% more energy than sitting (and biking probably falls somewhere in the same range).

However these also may come with tradeoffs, because you will likely need to use a laptop rather than a chunky desktop computer with this equipment.

Also, one consideration is the vibration that exercising while at your desk may cause... Will thing vibrate off your desk over time? Not sure.

Standing for most of the day at a standing desk is 10% better than sitting in terms of energy use, but has other health benefits.

For example, according to a July 2012 study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ Open), by reducing excessive sitting to only 3 hours a day, the U.S. life expectancy could decrease by 2 years.

Standing increases your heart rate, and alternating between standing and sitting has been shown to improve health. Standing also prevents the drop in good cholesterol and fat breaking-enzymes that sitting incurs.

If you go for the low end, standing desks are a much more affordable option than treadmill desks or bicycle desks. As previously mentioned, a desk converter (podium style) only retails for about $80 on Amazon, with DIY versions costing less. Actual standing desks can cost just a couple hundred dollars.

Physical Activity and LEED/Green Building

Aside from the aforementioned options, there are many other design strategies for improving physical activity inside buildings.

Green spaces, such as green roofs, parks, atriums or other outdoor spaces can motivate building occupants to move outside. This is a good alternative for employees who do not have special desks.

Green building design in LEED encourages stair use (instead of escalators or elevators) through signage, daylighting and artwork. As mentioned earlier, climbing the stairs uses 220% more energy than sitting, compared to standing’s 10%. So, taking the stairs rather than an elevator is much better for physical activity.

While providing stairs does not provide a steady stream of activity like exercise desks, just two minutes of stair climbing per day may be enough to stave off weight gain, so it can be just as effective.

Indeed, under Mayor Bloomberg, New York City has even mandated active design strategies that encourage stair use, because Bloomberg wants to combat obesity. NYC has also created the Center for Active Design, which will promote physical activity in buildings and outdoor spaces in the city.

If you're a LEED professional and want to learn more about design strategies for incorporating physical activity into green buildings, while maintaining your professional credential, check out this Health and Physical Activity in Green Buildings course for only $8.95.

It explains the obesity epidemic, how physically active design works with LEED (a green building rating system) and real-life case studies of physically active green buildings. The course is worth 1.5 LEED continuing education hours through self-reporting.

Photo credit: Juhan Sonin (via Flickr)