The Impact of Stand-Biased Desks in Classrooms on Calorie Expenditure in Children

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a public health concern with significant health and economic impacts. We conducted a prospective experimental study in 4 classrooms in central Texas to determine the effect of desks that encourage standing rather than sitting on caloric expenditure in children. Students were monitored with calorie expenditure-measuring arm-bands worn for 10 days in the fall and spring. The treatment group experienced significant increases in calorie expenditure over the control group, a finding that has implications for policy and practice.

Classroom Standing Desks and Sedentary Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…25 Participants' mean age varied across studies, from 8.0 to 11.6 years; the sample age was not reported in 1 study. 24 Gender was reported in all but 1 study, and the proportions of girls ranged from 37.5% to 58.3%. Race/ethnicity was reported in 3 studies and ranged from 23.0% to 70.3% white.…”

“…Two publications that reported findings pertaining to the same intervention 22,23 were consolidated in the results of the primary study publication. 24 Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of the studies included in our review. All studies examined the implementation of standing desks in school classrooms, and all study settings comprised elementary schools (range: first to sixth grade).…”

“…25,26,29 Three other samples were overweight/obese (BMI ≥85th percentile), 27,30,31 and 2 additional studies did not report BMI or height and weight measures to derive BMI. 24,32 Geographically, 4 studies were conducted in the United States, 2 in New Zealand, 1 in Germany, and 1 article reported individual findings from Australia and England.…”

“…[30][31][32] The other design was a "sit-to-stand" desk that incorporated both an adjustable standing desk and stool, and some desks included a swinging foot pendulum that permits extra movement and helps to correct posture. [24][25][26][27]29 There were no marked differences in outcomes between standing desk or sit-tostand desk designs; henceforth, the term "standing desk" is used to represent both types of desks. Where applicable, the control condition for each study was a traditional seated desk.…”

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

“…Enabling students to sit or stand at their discretion is known as stand-biased. Stand-biased desks are inexpensive alternatives to traditional seating and have the ability to "interrupt sedentary behavior patterns" (Benden, Blake, Wendel, & Huber, 2011, p. 1433. Brenden et al (2011) examined four firstgrade classrooms, wherein students were asked to wear calorie expenditure armbands for a period of ten days.…”