Classroom Standing Desks and Sedentary Behavior: A Systematic Review

Abstract

CONTEXT: Reducing sedentary behaviors, or time spent sitting, is an important target for health promotion in children. Standing desks in schools may be a feasible, modifiable, and acceptable environmental strategy to this end. OBJECTIVE:To examine the impact of school-based standing desk interventions on sedentary behavior and physical activity, health-related outcomes, and academic and behavioral outcomes in school-aged children.DATA SOURCES: Ovid Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Global Health, and CINAHL. STUDY SELECTION:Full-text peer-reviewed journal publications written in English; samples of school-aged youth (5-18 years of age); study designs including the same participants at baseline and follow-up; and use of a standing desk as a component of the intervention.DATA EXTRACTION: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. RESULTS:Eight studies satisfied selection criteria and used quasi-experimental (n = 4), randomized controlled trial (n = 3), and pre-post, no control (n = 1) designs. When examined, time spent standing increased in all studies (effect sizes: 0.38-0.71), while sitting time decreased from a range of 59 to 64 minutes (effect sizes: 0.27-0.49). Some studies reported increased physical activity and energy expenditure and improved classroom behavior.LIMITATIONS: One-half of the studies had nonrandomized designs, and most were pilot or feasibility studies.CONCLUSIONS: This initial evidence supports integrating standing desks into the classroom environment; this strategy has the potential to reduce sitting time and increase standing time among elementary schoolchildren. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of standing desks on academic performance and precursors of chronic disease risk.

Does a Classroom Standing Desk Intervention Modify Standing and Sitting Behaviour and Musculoskeletal Symptoms during School Time and Physical Activity during Waking Time?

“…A recent review that explored the impact of standing desks on sedentary time and physical activity time in children found inconsistent results for school time effects [30]. Some studies found that stepping time and total step count did not increase with the use of standing desks when compared to baseline measurements or the control group [32,43,45,46].…”

Alternative Seating and Students' Perceptions: Implications for the Learning Environment

“…Results of the study indicated that the students who utilized the standing desks had a significant increase in energy expenditure compared to the control group who did not utilize the stand-biased desks. Minges et al (2016) completed a systematic review of eight studies that examined the effect of standing desks on children's physical activity levels, sit and stand behaviors, classroom behaviors, and academic performance. Results suggested that time standing increased in all studies, time spent sitting decreased in all studies, and physical activity and positive academic behavior increased in most studies.…”

Pattern of sedentary behavior in brazilian adolescents

“…In this sense, even if a large part of current interventions aimed at reducing and/or disrupting adolescent sedentary behavior are school-based, such as the use of height adjustment tables 25 , these findings lead to the recommendation that future interventions should also emphasize the period outside school, such as the use of measures to reduce screen time or even family interventions 26 . The high sample loss, due to a low rate of individuals with valid accelerometer data (57%), is one of the main limiting factors of the study.…”