CNN recently published an article: "Standing desks may be bad for your health, new research finds". The research found that standing for prolonged periods wasn't found to be beneficial for one's health and may actually present a greater risk for some circulatory issues.
The results aren't surprising to me. Anecdotally, the worst discomfort I'd get working at Little Caesars in high school and undergrad, and before finding Rolfing, was sore knees after some hours on the clock. Like the article says, motion is lotion. Movement stimulates production of synovial fluid to help lubricate your joints. Any prolonged static position isn't ideal.
Sitting itself isn't unhealthy. The problem is modern-day endurance sitting. Sit in your car in order to get to work where you can sit for the day. Then you get out of work to go sit in your car again, sit in a drive-thru for dinner or a prescription pickup, and head home where you can sit some more in front of the TV or computer. In my opinion, breaking up periods of prolonged sitting is as important as limiting your total time sitting. From what I've read about peoples living more traditional lifestyles, people spend plenty of time sitting, but they aren't stuck in that position for extended periods.
I still think a standing desk can have benefits, and the cheaper ones really don't cost that much. First, I use it exactly for what I just described, breaking up prolonged sitting, rather than as a good thing in itself. I also find I tend to move more and walk away from the desk more when I'm already standing. Lastly, something I didn't think about before buying one is I've found mine helpful as a dining table. I'll raise the desk so that I'm not slouched over a bowl while eating.
Interestingly, the study from the International Journal of Epidemiology only mentions standing desks once, in the discussion, so it wasn't studying the use of them specifically. It's likely that the article highlights standing desks for clicks (worked on me!), but you'd think the effects of standing would translate across environments (e.g., standing at a concert, standing desk at work, etc.).
So go ahead and use a standing desk for variety, but just like almost anything, it's best done in moderation.
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