16 Sep 2014
Study examines benefits of sit-stand desks in Leicestershire hospitals
A Loughborough University academic expects workers in Leicestershire’s hospitals to feel ‘more energised and better psychologically” after using sit-stand desks during a £500,000 study.
Up to 100 sit-stand desks will be introduced for support staff in offices at three hospitals – the Infirmary, the General and Glenfield - to determine the effect they have on sedentary behaviour on NHS staff.
The study is being led by Dr Fehmidah Munir, Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences (SSEHS).
Dr Munir believes the desks will have a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of those who use them because the evidence suggests sitting for eight hours a day is bad for people.
The project, called SMArT Work (Stand More AT Work), is a collaborative venture between SSEHS, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester – Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University Melbourne, Australia.
It is being funded to the tune of £524,429 by the Department of Health and comes hot on the heels of a Loughborough-led pilot study in Bradford schools into whether sit-stand desks can help curb the UK’s obesity epidemic.
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