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Comment by nimbius | Hacker News Reader

Coming from a blue collar job (I work as an engine repair mechanic) ive never understood standing desks. most of the articles are right up there with either crystal chakra magic or "our ancesters were healthier!" crap.

I stand 6-8 hours a day. so do most of my coworkers. Simple observation of a chubby mechanic or a fat construction worker will tell you that the "standing desks are healthier" line is complete bullshit.

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Claims of the health benefits of standing desks are not about weight loss. I don't think I've seen that claimed at all. Claims I've seen most often are back related, blood pooling related, and cardiovascular/blood circulation.

The jury is still out, but subjectively, switching to a standing desk at least a few times a week really helped my posture and back.

Umm, sitting kills. The idea is that a standing desk can let you live longer whatever your body formation.

I don't think that it's sitting that kills. I think it's more the fact that you are less active. You can have the same problem standing all day without moving around.

So either sitting kills by itself and standing up is enough to avoid it, or sitting kills by taking time from being physically active and it's not enough to stand up (which also takes time from being physically active).

Here's some brand-new research based on 1000 people wearing accelerometers 24/7: http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978-952-61-2928-0/i...

Sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus

"From the accelerometer-derived parameters of SB [sedentary behaviour], a higher number of daily SB bouts lasting over 10 minutes was the strongest predictor of a high CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk."

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