Working while standing does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and does not compensate for a sedentary lifestyle | Health and Wellness

In recent years, many publications have appeared on websites and social networks about the fight against a sedentary lifestyle. influencers extolling the benefits and virtues of not using a chair to work while standing. Occupational health and safety experts explain that there are even companies that have completely eliminated traditional desks from their offices and opted for high or height-adjustable desks; and there are many remote workers who have signed up to fashion from home without always having the appropriate tools and knowledge. “Often a table is chosen because of aesthetics, price, and not because of the functionality that an employee should have. And what doesn’t make sense is to turn an ordinary job into a bad one, because in addition you acquire anti-ergonomic postures: your shoulders are not at the level of the keyboard, the screen is not at eye level,” explains Santiago Gonzalez. , President of the Association of Professionals in Prevention and Occupational Health (AEPSAL).

Two recent studies also concluded that standing up does not in any way provide any benefits to cardiovascular health and does not, on its own, offset the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle. The first of these studies was published in a scientific journal Circulation

concluded that alternating sitting and standing at work does not reduce blood pressure. The second, published in International Journal of Epidemiology Using UK Biobank data from more than 80,000 adults, it was found that standing at work does not reduce the risk of diseases such as stroke and heart failure; and that, in addition, standing at work for more than two hours a day may even increase the risk of developing problems such as varicose veins or deep vein thrombosis.

“Previous studies have examined the health benefits of sitting or standing based on cardiometabolic indicators such as blood pressure, triglyceride levels and insulin sensitivity. Our study is the first to attempt to link standing work with the risk of cardiovascular disease and orthostatic circulatory disorders (blood clots and varicose veins),” Matthew N. Ahmadi, research fellow at the Faculty of Medicine and Medicine, explains to EL PAÍS. According to Ahmadi, the results show that standing is better than sitting: “Spending a lot of time sitting was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, while standing was not associated with an increased risk, but was not associated with with lower risk.” “

“We often tell people to stand up, but this study shows that it is not associated with cardiovascular mortality, neither good nor bad. We could say that for serious cardiovascular pathologies, standing up has no effect, so it seems clear that it is a useless strategy for preventing cardiovascular disease,” reflects Luis Rodríguez Padial, director of cardiac services at the University Hospital Complex of Toledo. and President of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC).

The importance of movement during the workday

According to Matthew N. Ahmadi, his research suggests that to optimally improve health and reduce the risk of heart disease, it is not enough to change positions from sitting to standing, but it must be combined with activities that require a person to move. “To improve cardiovascular health, we must engage the cardiovascular system, and activities that get us moving can do this,” says the researcher.

This view coincides with what has been demonstrated by other recent studies, which have shown that short periods of just one minute of intense exercise during daily life can have a big impact on the health of sedentary people, reducing all-cause mortality and risk cardiovascular diseases by 40%.

“It is advisable to alternate small episodes of movement throughout the day, rather than just getting up and standing around doing nothing. You have to walk, take the stairs, take the opportunity to walk while talking… We have data that shows the benefits of this. On the one hand, because these small bursts mean a break with a sedentary lifestyle; and on the other hand, because for those who do nothing, it is a way to move a little,” reflects Rodríguez Padial.

Their opinion is shared by AEPSAL, where they argue that the key idea should be movement. “If we don’t move, there’s no point in standing,” says Santiago Gonzalez. The expert explains that prolonged sitting and standing without movement leads to the accumulation of blood in the legs and an increase in blood pressure, compensating for the lack of blood circulation. It is the flexion of the calf muscles when walking or moving that causes the muscle contractions necessary to supply blood to the heart and brain: “The veins move with the movement of the muscles. If we sit still for a long time, we can eventually develop problems such as heavy legs, varicose veins and, in more serious cases, thrombosis. And even more so if we are standing, because from this position the blood is even more difficult to return to the brain.”

In this sense, if you work standing, in addition to using telephone calls or having to make photocopies for walking, Gonzalez recommends other movements in the same workplace, such as standing on tiptoes or alternating body weight between one leg and the other. another. “Everything that gives movement to work will be health. After all, the body is dynamic, it is designed to move, not to stand still, and if we don’t give it that movement, problems arise,” he concludes.