stand-vs-sit

STANDING vs. SITTING:

    • The average U.S. student is sitting at school an average of 4.5 HOURS A DAY

    • For kids ages 8-18, an additional 7 HOURS A DAY in front of a screen, regardless of socioeconomic status

    • Combine the sitting at school in front of a screen with driving to school, doing homework, and eating meals, and kids are sitting 85% of their waking hours!

(Source: 2010 survey by Kaiser Family Foundation – Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year Olds)

SITTING EQUATES TO SMOKING

The problem is so bad that medical experts now equate sitting with smoking, because prolonged sitting will shorten your life, just like smoking. Sitting as little as 2 hrs continuously, increases risk for:

    • Heart Disease

    • Diabetes

    • Metabolic Syndrome

    • Cancer

    • Back & Neck Pain

    • And Other Orthopedic Problems

(Source: Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic, and author of “Get Up! Why You Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About it)

smoke

The 2010 American Cancer Society study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology followed 123,216 individuals (69,776 women and 53,440 men) from 1993-2006. See the alarming results:

Women who sit more than 6 hours a day were

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more likely to die during the time period studied than those who were physically active and sat less than 3 hours a day.

women

Men who sit more than 6
hours a day were

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more likely to die during the time period studied than those who were physically active and sat less than 3 hours a day.

Findings were independent of physical activity levels (the negative effects of sitting were just as strong in people who exercised regularly).

WHY STANDING IS THE SOLUTION

standing-graphic1

FUN FACTS:

    • Normal weight kids burn between 15-25% more calories at standing desks.

    • Obese kids burn between 25-35% more calories.

    • Kids are more engaged in a standing classroom.

    • Standing prevents orthopedic degradation & dysfunction including back and neck pain, repetitive stress injuries, pelvic floor dysfunction, and knee & hip disorders.

    • Standing desks create the foundation for a movement-rich environment, and as one researcher put it,physical activity is cognitive candy.

(Sources: www.mdpi.com, www.mobilitywod.com and Dr. Mark Benden – Texas A&M)

WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

  • Sitting too much causes disease and orthopedic dysfunction, and impedes children’s ability to learn.

  • Kids at standing desks burn between 15% to 25% more calories during the school day than the ones who remained sitting.

  • Obese students the desks had an even bigger impact, increasing calorie use by up to the 25% to 35%.

  • Small movements at standing desks, such as fidgeting, has a large impact on calorie expenditure.

  • Kids in standing classrooms are more engaged.

  • Classroom management is easier.

  • If kids are given the opportunity to move throughout the day, they will do so.

  • When students move more, their education improves.

  • Children feel happier when they can move more and aren’t restricted to a chair.

  • Classroom behavior improves with active learning.

  • Children who move more have greater creativity.

  • Educational test scores improve.

  • Students can shift their bodies and change position when they need to stay focused.

  • Standing prevents the body’s tissue adaptation to static positions (i.e. short hip flexors & hamstrings, rounded upper back, poor shoulder position) AND it does not erode the child’s physiology like sitting does.

  • Standing maintains the integrity of all the complex motor skills required for optimal physical function.

  • Reducing daily sedentary time literally reduces cell aging, which means kids will live longer and be more healthy