Installation of a stationary high desk in the workplace: effect of a 6-week intervention on physical activity

BMC Public Health, Apr 2015

Background Extended sitting time at work is viewed as a crucial public health issue. Encouraging workers to stand during their office hours via the installation of standing desks maybe one effective option to combat this. Here, we investigate whether the installation of high desks in the workplace can induce positive changes in the amount of physical activity (PA) and thereby lead to subsequent improvements in anthropometric parameters. Methods Thirty-two white-collar workers (22 men and 10 women, mean age 44.2) were randomly divided into two groups. A randomised crossover trial was performed for 13 weeks. During the experimental period, subjects completed their office work in a standing position using stationary high desks (standing work, SW) for 10 hours per week or more (SW period). The subjects were asked to maintain their normal sitting working habits during the control period (CONT period). The primary outcome was PA, which was assessed objectively using a triaxial accelerometer during weekdays and weekends. The secondary outcomes were anthropometric measurements. For each group and each parameter, the mean values during each period were recorded and were compared by paired t test. Results The daily total PA (10.2  ±  2.4 vs. 9.7  ±  2.3 METs · h/day, P = 0.043), MVPA (4.2  ±  2.2 vs. 3.7  ±  1.8 METs · h/day, P = 0.025), time spent in moderate PA (58.2 ± 20.7 vs. 53.4 ± 17.0 min/day, P = 0.019) and time spent in MVPA (62.8 ± 25.1 vs. 57.0 ± 20.3 min/day, P = 0.019) were significantly higher during the SW period compared to the CONT period. A weekdays verses weekends subanalysis revealed that these parameters were significantly higher during the SW period compared to the CONT period during weekdays only. No significant differences were noted before and after SW periods for most of the anthropometric measures, except waist circumference (83.7  ±  7.9 vs. 83.0  ±  7.9 cm, respectively, P = 0.007). Conclusions Standing work, via the installation of high desks, significantly increases moderate to vigorous physical activity, especially on weekdays. Trial registration UMIN-CRT, UMIN000016731, 7th March 2015.

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Installation of a stationary high desk in the workplace: effect of a 6-week intervention on physical activity

Miyachi et al. BMC Public Health Installation of a stationary high desk in the workplace: effect of a 6-week intervention on physical activity Motohiko Miyachi 0 Satoshi Kurita 0 Julien Tripette 0 Ryo Takahara 1 Yoshiko Yagi 1 Haruka Murakami 0 0 Department of Health Promotion and Exercise, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku , Tokyo 162-8636 , Japan 1 ITOKI Inc , Chuo, Tokyo , Japan Background: Extended sitting time at work is viewed as a crucial public health issue. Encouraging workers to stand during their office hours via the installation of standing desks maybe one effective option to combat this. Here, we investigate whether the installation of high desks in the workplace can induce positive changes in the amount of physical activity (PA) and thereby lead to subsequent improvements in anthropometric parameters. Methods: Thirty-two white-collar workers (22 men and 10 women, mean age 44.2) were randomly divided into two groups. A randomised crossover trial was performed for 13 weeks. During the experimental period, subjects completed their office work in a standing position using stationary high desks (standing work, SW) for 10 hours per week or more (SW period). The subjects were asked to maintain their normal sitting working habits during the control period (CONT period). The primary outcome was PA, which was assessed objectively using a triaxial accelerometer during weekdays and weekends. The secondary outcomes were anthropometric measurements. For each group and each parameter, the mean values during each period were recorded and were compared by paired t test. Results: The daily total PA (10.2 ± 2.4 vs. 9.7 ± 2.3 METs · h/day, P = 0.043), MVPA (4.2 ± 2.2 vs. 3.7 ± 1.8 METs · h/day, P = 0.025), time spent in moderate PA (58.2 ± 20.7 vs. 53.4 ± 17.0 min/day, P = 0.019) and time spent in MVPA (62.8 ± 25.1 vs. 57.0 ± 20.3 min/day, P = 0.019) were significantly higher during the SW period compared to the CONT period. A weekdays verses weekends subanalysis revealed that these parameters were significantly higher during the SW period compared to the CONT period during weekdays only. No significant differences were noted before and after SW periods for most of the anthropometric measures, except waist circumference (83.7 ± 7.9 vs. 83.0 ± 7.9 cm, respectively, P = 0.007). Conclusions: Standing work, via the installation of high desks, significantly increases moderate to vigorous physical activity, especially on weekdays. Standing work; Occupational activity; Sedentary; Workplace - Background Prolonged sitting time at work is viewed as a crucial public health issue. Several studies indicated that sedentary behaviour (including sitting) is associated with higher rates of mortality and elevated incidences of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and depression [1-5]. A recent study by Bauman et al. [6] reported that Japanese young adults have the longest sitting time out of 20 different developed countries. This may be a consequence of the long working times among office workers. Therefore, effective countermeasures to decrease the sitting time at work may be a powerful health promotion strategy in Japan, as well as in all countries with a large number of white-collar employees. Encouraging workers to stand during their office hours, via the installation of standing desks (standing work, SW) or sit–stand workstations, maybe one viable approach to increasing physical activity (PA) at work. Previous studies have shown high level of acceptability [7,8] as well as significant reductions in sitting time among office workers [7,9-11]. Moreover, SW has been shown to be associated with various positive health effects, such as improvement in employees’ mood and a reduction in work-related musculoskeletal discomfort, such as neck and back pain [10,12]. In addition, Thorpe et al. [13] described an attenuation of the postprandial glycaemic response in employees undergoing a SW intervention. If we consider a long-term intervention, SW could be viewed as a powerful prevention strategy against the development of chronic metabolic disorders in office workers [13]. Despite these data, the literature on SW is still limited and somewhat contrasted [14]. In particular, it is unclear whether SW interventions can have a significant effect on the overall level of PA. Most studies used sit-stand workstations, which are height adjustable desks [7,10-13,15]. These studies described a significant but very slight increase in the overall PA (e.g. stepping time = + 6 min per day after one week [7]) and did not differentiate between light-intensity PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). In comparison, Gilson et al. [9] used “hot” SW desks shared between employees and installed away from their usual desks. Such a setting might be able to promote movements between the sitting and standing workstations. However, the sample size of the study was small and the behaviour changes of employees were very v (...truncated)


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Motohiko Miyachi, Satoshi Kurita, Julien Tripette, Ryo Takahara, Yoshiko Yagi, Haruka Murakami. Installation of a stationary high desk in the workplace: effect of a 6-week intervention on physical activity, BMC Public Health, 2015, pp. 368, 15, DOI: 10.1186/s12889-015-1724-3