Standing Desks in a Grade 4 Classroom over the Full School Year.

Sharon Parry, Beatriz Ir de Oliveira, Joanne A McVeigh, Joyln Ee, Angela Jacques, Leon Straker

Journal: International journal of environmental research and public health 2020;16(19):3590

PMID: 31557874

Abstract

School-aged children are spending increasingly long periods of time engaged in sedentary activities such as sitting. Recent school-based studies have examined the intervention effects of introducing standing desks into the classroom in the short and medium term. The aim of this repeated-measures crossover design study was to assess the sit-stand behaviour, waking sedentary time and physical activity, and musculoskeletal discomfort at the start and the end of a full school year following the provision of standing desks into a Grade 4 classroom. Accelerometry and musculoskeletal discomfort were measured in both standing and traditional desk conditions at the start and at the end of the school year. At both time points, when students used a standing desk, there was an increase in standing time (17-26 min/school day) and a reduction in sitting time (17-40 min/school day). There was no significant difference in sit-stand behaviour during school hours or sedentary time and physical activity during waking hours between the start and the end of the school year. Students were less likely to report discomfort in the neck and shoulders when using a standing desk and this finding was consistent over the full school year. The beneficial effects of using a standing desk were maintained over the full school year, after the novelty of using a standing desk had worn off.

Address: School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].; School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].; School of Occupational Therapy, Curtin University, Speech Therapy and Social Work, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].; Movement Science Laboratory, School of Physiology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng 2188, South Africa. [email protected].; School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].; School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].; School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth WA 6102, Australia. [email protected].

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193590

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MeSH Terms: Accelerometry, Child, Cross-Over Studies, Exercise, Humans, Interior Design and Furnishings, Male, Schools, Sedentary Behavior, Sitting Position, Standing Position, Students