By Carter M.

A lot of people think that standing desks are better than sitting ones. For, the concept of the standing desk is nothing new. They’ve actually been used since the thirteenth century. About six-hundred years ago! It’s widely believed by historians that Leonardo DaVinci may have used a standing desk while he was working on the Mona Lisa. Standing desks were also used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as status symbols favored by great thinkers like Thomas Jefferson. Though none of this compares to their revival in the late twentieth and the early twenty-first century, when they became all the craze. In the past thirty years, standing desks have taken off into popularity. A 2023 article by Harvard Senior Faculty Editor Robert H. Shmerling shows that the now-$8.1 billion global market of standing desks is going to increase to almost $11 billion by just 2030.

Flexispot, Upliftdesk, and many more standing desk companies have been doing very well over the last few years, but what about the actual users of the desk? Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin posted an article that states that almost 50% of companies that use offices provide or subsidize standing desks for employees. That’s close to three-fold since 2013 where 16% of employers were offered the benefit, according to Claire Fountain, a seasoned writer and business analyst from Texas. So with all these sales and standing desk users, they must be better than sitting desks, right? Well, that may not be exactly true.   

One of the main reasons people switch to standing desks is because they want to improve their health. This can range from losing weight, reducing back and neck strain, and just a less sedentary lifestyle. I personally think the idea of standing desks is great. Instead of sitting all day, you can stand. I personally think humans, the lazy beings we are, could use more exercise. I am all for healthier lifestyles, and sitting all day doesn’t exactly help. Herman Pontzer, who has a Ph.D in human and ape evolution, states in an article in Scientific American (October 2024) that “[s]itting at a desk or in front of the television is associated with increased risk of disease and a shorter life span, even among people who exercise. Worldwide, physical inactivity is arguably on par with smoking as a health risk, killing more than five million people annually.”  So it makes sense why so many people want to switch to standing desks. Though is standing better? Does it help reduce and maybe even help lower weight gain? Is it a posture helper? Are you going to be healthier?

That’s the question researchers publishing in the  Journal of Physical Health and Activity tried to answer. They had 74 healthy people put on masks that measured their oxygen consumption as a reflection of how many calories burned while doing computer work or watching TV. The sitting subjects burned about 80 calories an hour, about the equivalent to typing or watching television. Meanwhile, the standing subjects burned just 8 more calories at 88 calories an hour. So if you’re using a standing desk for three hours, you burn an extra 24 calories. That’s the same number of calories in a single carrot. So if you’re thinking of changing to a standing desk for weight loss or avoiding weight gain, you shouldn’t waste time and money on standing desks.

Sure, standing desks might not help you, but they can’t hurt, right? Surprisingly, in some cases they might be worse for you than a sitting desk. This especially applies to feet, joints, and the overall health of your body. An article from Shady Grove Podiatry, experts in leg, foot, and ankle health, show the results of some startling new studies. One study shows that prolonged standing, like standing at a desk for an eight hour work day, can cause some detrimental health problems throughout your entire body. Imagine working five days a week, for almost every week of the year, standing every day for eight hours. Even if you only stand for half of the day, it can still cause problems over an extended amount of time. These health problems can include leg and foot pain, cardiovascular problems, fatigue and other concerns. When you stand for long periods of time without moving, pressure builds in the feet, leading to pain and stiffness. According to experts at the Podiatry, over time this can cause specific foot concerns like plantar fasciitis, bunions and muscle fatigue. Yet, even though people switch to standing desks for health reasons, they’re probably getting into worse health than when they were sitting. 

Some people may fantasize about getting into better shape and reducing pain. They talk of losing weight and getting into better physical health, and I don’t blame them. There’s some other health benefits that are assumed based on the finding that long hours of sitting are linked with a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and premature death. If I didn’t know the facts proven by multiple hospitals and prestigious universities like the Harvard Medical School, I would probably envisage that standing desks are a better alternative to sitting. And I wish that was true, but it’s not. All the facts and studies show that, while sitting is not the healthiest, standing is not much better and sometimes even worse. 

So where does this leave you? We know that sitting’s not healthy, but neither’s standing. Well, nowadays there’s more than just a sitting or a standing desk. These can include inflatable exercise balls instead of chairs, treadmill desks, and much more. You can even stick with your usual desk, but take breaks where you can move around and walk for a bit. These are just a few examples of what you can do. If you really want to have a healthy alternative to sitting, I recommend you do some research and find out what fits you and your body. Just, for my sake and yours, don’t pick a standing desk.