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 The study team analyzed data from eight previously published papers
and found, not surprisingly, that kids spent more time on their feet
when these desks were used instead of traditional classroom
furniture.
Standing desks were also linked to a decrease in sitting time
ranging from 59 to 64 minutes per school day.
“In schools, children spend over 50 percent of the school day
sitting – traveling to school, during class, at lunch, sometimes
during recess, traveling home after school, etc.,” said lead study
author Karl Minges of the Yale School of Nursing in Connecticut.
“While one cannot easily reduce sitting time at lunch or during
transportation, changing the classroom environment to be more
conducive to standing seems like low-hanging fruit,” Minges added by
email.
Reducing sedentary time among school-age children is important
because inactivity is linked to a wide range of health problems
including obesity and diabetes, Minges and colleagues note in the
journal Pediatrics. Some previous research has also linked sedentary
time to poor academic achievement and low self-esteem.
For the current study, researchers focused on standing desks used in
first through sixth grades. Students in the studies were around
eight to 12 years old, on average, and the studies ranged in size
from eight to 337 participants.
Four studies were done in the U.S., while two were from New Zealand
and one was in Germany. An additional article included data from
Australia and the U.K.
The types of desks varied across the studies, with some
configurations fixed at a standing height and other adjustable
options that allowed students to alternate between sitting and
standing throughout the day.
Five of the studies tracked the effect of these desks on standing
time. In two studies, children spent significantly more time
standing after they got the desks than they did before, with
increases ranging from about 26 percent to 31 percent. In two other
studies, children stood 24 minutes longer per school day with
standing desks.
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One study also looked at screen time, often used as a proxy for
sedentary behavior, and found that after standing desks were put in
classrooms, students spent 71 fewer minutes each day watching
television and using computers.
Six studies looked at physical activity and didn’t find significant
changes with standing desks by looking at total steps or time spent
stepping.
Limitations of the analysis include the small number of studies and
participants, as well as the varied ways of tracking the impact of
standing desks, the authors acknowledge.
More research is needed to determine whether standing desks might be
cost-effective or feasible to provide in schools, and additional
studies are also necessary to assess any potential health or
educational benefits of standing desks.
Still, the preliminary evidence on standing desks points to their
potential to help reduce sitting time and increase standing time
among elementary children, the authors conclude.
“The long term use of these desks might result in reduction in
sedentary behavior amongst children not just in schools but even
outside the school environment,” said Dr. Seema Kumar, a pediatric
endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who
wasn’t involved in the study.
“Children may become more active overall and these changes in
behavior may translate into better weight outcomes, improved ability
to learn and pay attention and greater self-esteem.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1PsKFhB Pediatrics, online January 22, 2016.
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