Stand Out in Class: Investigating the Potential Impact of a Sit–Stand Desk Intervention on Children’s Sitting and Physical Activity during Class Time and after School

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour (sitting) is a risk factor for adverse health outcomes. The classroom environment has traditionally been associated with prolonged periods of sitting in children. The aim of this study was to examine the potential impact of an environmental intervention, the addition of sit–stand desks in the classroom, on school children’s sitting and physical activity during class time and after school. The ‘Stand Out in Class’ pilot trial was a two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial conducted in eight primary schools with children from a mixed socioeconomic background. The 4.5 month environmental intervention modified the physical (six sit–stand desks replaced standard desks) and social (e.g., teachers’ support) environment. All children wore activPAL and ActiGraph accelerometers for 7 days at baseline and follow-up. In total 176 children (mean age= 9.3 years) took part in the trial. At baseline, control and intervention groups spent more than 65% of class time sitting, this changed to 71.7% and 59.1% at follow-up, respectively (group effect p < 0.001). The proportion of class time spent standing and stepping, along with the proportion of time in light activity increased in the intervention group and decreased in the control group. There was no evidence of any compensatory effects from the intervention after school. Incorporating sit–stand desks to change the classroom environment at primary school appears to be an acceptable strategy for reducing children’s sedentary behaviour and increasing light activity especially during class time. Trial registration: ISRCTN12915848 (registered: 09/11/16).

Influence of Sit-Stand Tables in Classrooms on Children’s Sedentary Behavior and Teacher’s Acceptance and Feasibility: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…Therefore, we calculated sitting and standing times per measured school hour (45 min) so that a comparability between participating schools in this study could be achieved. However, comparisons with existing research results is difficult since other school examinations have all been performed in other countries than Germany, with different school systems and few studies, to our knowledge, have examined classrooms which were fully equipped with sit-stand tables [ 4 , 13 , 28 , 39 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…To date, the evidence of associations between objectively assessed sitting and standing times regarding physical fitness and cognitive outcomes based on the implementation of sit-stand tables is limited to small numbers of participants in the previous studies (range n = 5 to 31, [ 27 , 28 ]). Moreover, evidence of the effect of sit-stand tables implemented in school settings and related didactic concepts is mostly restricted to Australia, USA, the UK and New Zealand [ 27 ].…”