Scientists recently discovered that sitting for long periods basically shuts down your body's ability to dispose of fat. Since you can't dispose of fat, it accumulates at a rapid rate in the tissue around your organs.

This research is particularly interesting for those of us who sit at a computer all day. After storing fat all day, it might be that evening exercise can only re-balance the scales instead of yielding a lot of benefits. Some standing up during the day might allow exercise to have a greater effect since it doesn't have to burn off each day's worth of rapid fat accumulation.

At Microsoft, I actually had a desk with a motor that would move from a sitting position to a standing position. I already loved that desk because it kept my defective hip from hurting; now it turns out it must have also helped me keep off some fat.

As more research like this comes out, more people spend their workdays at computers, the population gets fatter, and health care costs continue to rise, I think we'll see stand-up desks and even treadmill workstations become much more common. Now we need health insurance companies to offer incentives (lower rates or rebates) to companies and individuals that buck the standard desk and chair in favor of a healthier setup.

Posted by JoshC at November 28, 2007 12:26 PM

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