Clemes et al Standing Desk paper - accepted.pdf (389.21 kB)
Reducing children's classroom sitting time using sit-to-stand desks: findings from pilot studies in UK and Australian primary schools.
journal contribution
posted on 2015-12-04, 11:09 authored by Stacy ClemesStacy Clemes, Sally E. Barber, Daniel D. Bingham, Nicola Ridgers, Elly Fletcher, Natalie PearsonNatalie Pearson, Jo Salmon, David W. DunstanBACKGROUND: This research examined the influence of sit-to-stand desks on classroom sitting time in primary school children. METHODS: Pilot controlled trials with similar intervention strategies were conducted in primary schools in Melbourne, Australia, and Bradford, UK. Sit-to-stand desks replaced all standard desks in the Australian intervention classroom. Six sit-to-stand desks replaced a bank of standard desks in the UK intervention classroom. Children were exposed to the sit-to-stand desks for 9-10 weeks. Control classrooms retained their normal seated desks. Classroom sitting time was measured at baseline and follow-up using the activPAL3 inclinometer. RESULTS: Thirty UK and 44 Australian children provided valid activPAL data at baseline and follow-up. The proportion of time spent sitting in class decreased significantly at follow-up in both intervention groups (UK: -9.8 ± 16.5% [-52.4 ± 66.6 min/day]; Australian: -9.4 ± 10% [-43.7 ± 29.9 min/day]). No significant changes in classroom sitting time were observed in the UK control group, while a significant reduction was observed in the Australian control group (-5.9 ± 11.7% [-28.2 ± 28.3 min/day]). CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of implementation, incorporating sit-to-stand desks into classrooms appears to be an effective way of reducing classroom sitting in this diverse sample of children. Longer term efficacy trials are needed to determine effects on children's health and learning.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Published in
Journal of public health (Oxford, England)Citation
CLEMES, S.A. ...et al., 2015. Reducing children's classroom sitting time using sit-to-stand desks: findings from pilot studies in UK and Australian primary schools. Journal of Public Health, 38 (3), pp. 526-533.Publisher
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public HealthVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Publication date
2015Notes
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Public Health following peer review. The version of record CLEMES, S.A. ...et al., 2015. Reducing children's classroom sitting time using sit-to-stand desks: findings from pilot studies in UK and Australian primary schools. Journal of Public Health, In Press. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv084ISSN
1741-3842eISSN
1741-3850Publisher version
Language
- en