Sustained sitting can cause several health issues. Photo: Shutterstock

Office workers should stand for up to four hours every day, working on their feet and taking regular walking breaks, new research has suggested, pointing to a radically different vision of office life in the near future.

A study published by Public Health England, drawn up by experts from the UK, US and Australia, calls for a revolution in the workplace through standing-based work, adjustable height ‘sit-stand’ desks and frequent walking.

Office workers spend 65 to 75 per cent of their working hours sitting, and half of this is spent in prolonged periods of sustained sitting, according to the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

It suggests that those who sit most may be more than twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and have a 13 per cent and 17 per cent increased risk of cancer incidence and mortality, respectively.

The effect of sitting is like holding a glass of water fora long time

Traditional sitting arrangements are still overwhelmingly the norm in offices in Malta, but a number of companies have already started to explore the benefits that encouraging employees to stand might have on their health and productivity.

Stephanie Vella, a manager at an international company headquartered in Malta, said her office introduced a limited number of chest-high standing desks a few weeks ago as an experiment, and the results are already positive.

“The benefits here include more engagement with your co-workers from different departments and more energy; it’s good for posture and gives you that ready for action feel,” she said.

Carlo Conti, a physiotherapist who has carried out extensive research on sitting ergonomics, said the human body was simply not designed to sit still for too long.

“The effects of sitting are like holding a glass of water for a long time: the effects aren’t visible immediately, but they’re cumulative and highly insidious,” he said.

According to Dr Conti, excessive sitting can cause a range of health issues, including head-aches, carpal tunnel syndrome, stiffness of the ribcage (affecting breathing and anxiety levels), lower back problems, muscle weakness, degeneration of the discs and spinal instability.

He said that people working on an office should aim to stand for at least five minutes every hour, even if just to go to the bathroom or have a cup of coffee.

Apart from the health benefits, this could also increase psychological alertness, he said.

“Be flexible and listen to your body. If you find yourself slouching, then you’re probably not as productive as you could be.”

Dr Conti also recommended that apart from shifting to standing or adjustable height desks, people should actually rethink the way they sit down.

“People are told to sit with an upright spine, with the knees and hips at 90 degrees, but that puts so much tension around the pelvis that the spine will naturally slouch.

“To sit properly, sit on a higher stool, where the hips are higher than the knees. That allows the spine to stay upright effortlessly, like placing bricks on top of each other.”