You Can Whistle While You Work Standing Up

"What is the real answer? How many calories would someone burn in standing or sitting up?"
"The ultimate goal is to avoid sitting for too long continuously."
"The conclusion was that indeed people who stand burn more calories than those who sit. But at the same time, we found the number of calories was not as high as some people who were in favour of the standing desk were claiming."
"I tell my patients to try to apply some common sense. [Stand periodically throughout the day] as many times as you can."
"The ultimate goal is to avoid sitting for too long continuously."
Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jiminez, cardiologist, Mayo Clinic

It is really important for all of us to get up from our couch or office chair   Getty

We've all seen those dire warnings, that sitting around can work to your extreme health disadvantage; to the point where it can put you in an early grave. Well, sitting around for inexcusably prolonged periods of time equals true dedication to a sedentary lifestyle. And such a lifestyle can transform us into what was once popularly and fondly called "couch potatoes", until medical science began warning us that we're working toward an early departure from this mortal coil, but even before that, we would be struggling with chronic diseases.

It became popular to stand while working, rather than sitting. Women began balancing themselves on those huge rubber gym balls as alternatives to sitting on office chairs, with the assurance that they were improving their balance, using their musculature, being aware of the need to get up and move around from time to time. Standing, or an alternative to just sitting became an antidote to sitting ourselves to death.

And then the tide turned and disbelief entered the picture with arguments of over-rating the purported benefits of standing. Now, a new study provides some kind of answer to many of the doubters. For example, the study claims to prove that standing burns calories whereas sitting fails to. Researchers discovered that for a six-hour day of standing, about 54 calories were burned off, roughly akin to forgetting to eat that orange you took along as a snack. So then, not that much of an energy expenditure, after all.

The idea for these researchers was to rifle through close to 700 studies attempting to measure the promise of standing desks delivering health benefits. Of those studies, 46 were finally chosen for inclusion in the review; these studies passed muster because they were careful in their measuring and used a scientific methodology for the measurement of calories. Over 1,100 standing desk users' experience were used as study-subjects.

The final analysis was that though 54 calories failed to appear impressive, that 54 calories per day over a four-year period -- representing the period since standing desks were first popularized -- anyone using them faithfully had the potential of losing 10 kilograms (22 pounds). And though women wouldn't be thrilled to learn this, it appeared that th e study verified that men had a t endency to burn twice as many calories per minute as compared to women, wh ile standing.

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez studies obesity and cardiovascular disease, and he remains an advocate of standing desks at work for optimum outcomes. People with standing desks tend to move more through the day, resulting in more burned calories than just standing alone, according to research. Aside from the fact that long periods of sitting is associated with back problems, an issue that standing desks addresses as well.

Standing or sitting, the basic message is: get up, move around, take breaks of at least 30 minutes at a time, as prescribed by those who link lack of movement with weight gain, weight gain with diabetes, diabetes with heart problems.

Researchers sifted through the almost 700 studies that have sought to measure the health benefits of standing desks   LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images