Standing desks don’t do squat, per new study

In Brief

Over the years, numerous startups have gained traction by designing, making and selling standing desks as part of a workspace innovation trend to promote better health, and a lot of executives swear by them, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who once called sitting “the new cancer.”

But per the Washington Post, a new study of more than 83,000 adults found that standing for more than two hours a day not only doesn’t protect against cardiovascular risks, but it heightens an individual’s risk of circulatory problems, including varicose veins, abnormally low blood pressure, and blood clots. Standing also burns just nine extra calories per hour.

Sitting too much is still problematic, the researchers note — physical inactivity is definitely bad news. The answer instead is moving every 30 minutes or so, suggests the University of Sydney professor, Emmanuel Stamatakis, who oversaw the study. “[M]uscular contraction is a necessary condition for any activity to maintain or improve health,” he tells the Post.

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