How Many Calories do You Burn Standing at Your Desk

We understand it: it is not healthy to spend hours sitting day after day, hour after hour. There are several reasons for this, but also because we rarely burn any calories. The question now: How much better is standing in that respect?

Losing weight without exercising doesn't work? Not correct! We'll show you how to burn 600 extra calories a week - without sweating. How about if you could work off the burger you had eaten with a guilty conscience without a single squat? We have good news for you: it is possible. We burn calories as we move, but can you really get the same effect just by standing? According to a study by the University of Chester, UK, a person can burn 40 calories an hour just by standing.

Standing as a diet - how does it work?

In the research, the scientists asked volunteers to work while standing. Participants should push their office chairs aside for at least three hours per day and do their work in a standing position. The study results showed that standing raises the heart rate and burns an additional 0.7 calories in every sixty seconds. That is 42 calories per hour. It may not seem like much, but if you stand for another three hours each day during your workweek, you will burn around 630 calories in a week without shedding a sweat!

American cardiologists have also calculated, according to the "European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 1". A person weighing 65 kg would lose around 10 kg weight in four years if he/she stood for six hours a day instead of sitting. The effect can be increased by "additional muscle movements" when standing, write the cardiologists. However, the researchers assume in their calculations that there is "no additional food intake" when standing for six hours.

Not only does standing burn more calories, but the extra muscle activity has also been linked to lower rates of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. So the benefits of standing could go beyond weight loss." For their review article, the researchers evaluated 46 studies with a total of around 1200 participants.

Reduce daily sitting time

Ask your company whether it would be possible to set up a standing desk as a workplace. If you cannot convince your superiors of your idea, there are the following options for lifting your bottom three hours a day from the chair and for your health:

• Surf with your mobile phone or tablet while standing. After all, it's not portable for nothing. You can also call while standing or walk across the room.
• Get up after every hour of sitting down. Get something to drink, go to the bathroom, etc. This stimulates the blood circulation and thus the production of lipoprotein lipase.
• Leave your seat on the bus or train to other passengers. They will thank you, and you have done a good deed.
• Choose high tables in restaurants and bars. Prefer bar stools to chairs.
• Do chores, such as chopping vegetables, while standing.