Sitting and standing at work
Sedentary behaviour, including prolonged and static sitting and standing at work, is of growing concern to workplaces and workers because of its potential negative effects on health and comfort. IWH research explores the association between prolonged sitting and/or standing and chronic illnesses, musculoskeletal disorders and premature death, as well as prevention guidelines that will reduce these effects
Featured
At Work article
Workers doing vigorous, tiring activity all day no healthier than those who are least active
What daily physical activity pattern is best for your heart health? An IWH research team analyzed activity tracker data in a nationally representative sample of nearly 8,100 workers and examined their 10-year risk of heart disease.
Published: June 30, 2022
Journal article
Journal article
The relationship between occupational standing and sitting and incident heart disease over a 12-year period in Ontario, Canada
Published: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 2018
At Work article
Standing too long at work carries twice the risk of heart disease as sitting too long
There has been a lot of interest in recent years in the health risks of prolonged sitting. But a study by IWH and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences suggests you might spare a thought for people in jobs that mostly involve standing (e.g. cooks, tellers, cashiers).
Published: November 2017
IWH in the media
No, a standing desk isn't as unhealthy as smoking
A headline today has proclaimed that standing at work is “as unhealthy as a cigarette a day," citing a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Illustrated with a picture of a woman bent over her standing desk clutching at her back, we’re instructed to “sit back down." But a closer look at the research in question reveals very little to do with standing desks. In fact, the study did not look at standing desks at all, writes Suzi Gage.
Published: The Guardian, September 2017
Research Highlights
Prolonged standing on the job associated with higher risk of heart disease than prolonged sitting
Workers who predominantly stand on the job are at greater risk of heart disease than workers who predominantly sit. Workplace prevention efforts should target excessive standing, as well as excessive sitting, to protect the cardiovascular health of workers.
Published: September 2017
IWH in the media
Bad news: Now standing at work is killing you, too
Wait, what? It's been less than a week since we shared with you the grim news that sitting as much as you do will one day transform you into a helpless, miserable, immobile old person who can barely walk. Now, a team of Canadian researchers have found that people who primarily stand at work are twice as likely to develop heart disease as their chair-dwelling counterparts
Published: GQ, September 2017
IWH in the media
If you stand for too long at work, you could double your risk of this disease
Odds are, you already know about the scary things that sitting can do to your health. But we have some bad news: Your standing desk may be doing more harm than good, too, writes Brooke Nelson.
Published: Reader's Digest, September 2017
IWH in the media
Standing too much at work can double your risk of heart disease
People who primarily stand on the job are twice as likely to develop heart disease as people who primarily sit. This was the case even after taking into account a wide range of factors, including personal factors, health and the type of work being performed, writes Dr. Peter Smith in The Conversation.
Published: The Conversation, September 2017
IWH in the media
Standing all day is twice as bad as sitting for your heart
On the circle of health hype, what was bad becomes good, then it becomes overrated, then it becomes bad again. That’s what happened to barefoot running and multivitamins, and it’s where the purported dangers of “too much sitting” seem to be headed. But the truth is probably somewhere in the middle rather than on the peaks or in the valleys. With that in mind, it’s worth looking at an interesting study just published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that finds jobs that require a lot of standing to be much worse for your health than jobs that require mostly sitting, writes Alex Hutchinson.
Published: Runner's World, August 2017
IWH in the media
Too much standing is bad, study finds — it's time to move
People who stand for long periods at work may have another reason to join their seated colleagues in moving more. "There's a good body of research evidence that shows standing a lot is actually bad for your health," said Peter Smith, a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health.
Published: CBC, August 2017
News release
News release
Prolonged standing on the job more likely to lead to heart attack than prolonged sitting
Published: August 2017