Texas A&M study recommends 'standing desks' in elementary schools citing health benefits
The desks have caught on in the workplace with adults
Published 3:39 pm, Wednesday, August 24, 2016
According to a recently published study from Texas A&M University Health Science Center researchers it would behoove some schools to introduce desks that allow for children to stand during the school day, citing statistics that indicate the desks could reduce body mass numbers.
The study was published this week -- the first week that most Texas schoolkids returned to class -- in the American Journal of Public Health and includes findings from studies conducted at 24 elementary classrooms in three College Station schools.
According to the data there is evidence, researchers say, that kids with access to standing desks saw a decline in the increase of their individual body mass index. That is a key indicator in determining obesity.
Mark Benden, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health and an author of the study, seemed to rave about the benefits of standing desks for children.
"Research around the world has shown that standing desks are positive for the teachers in terms of classroom management and student engagement, as well as positive for the children for their health, cognitive functioning and academic achievement," said Benden. "It's literally a win-win, and now we have hard data that shows it is beneficial for weight control."
Benden's researchers had already discovered in the past that students who stand burned up to 15 percent more calories than those who sit down. The challenge, it seems, is measuring weight loss in bodies that are constantly growing and changing.
Adults in some workplaces have opted for standing desks after studies showed a variety of benefits, including weight loss, circulation and productivity. Texas A&M released their findings on this earlier in the year.
According to a release from Texas A&M, four classrooms at each of the schools that participated in the study were outfitted with "stand-biased" desks, which have the option of sitting or perching on a stool. Four additional classrooms without the standing desks were used as a control.
Researchers monitored 193 students between the start of their third grade year and the end of fourth grade.
The authors say that students who had the standing desks for two years "averaged a three percent drop in BMI" while those in sitting desks "showed the two percent increase typically associated with getting older." Even kids who spent just a year with the desks were found to have a noticeable drop in BMI.
"In addition, there weren't major differences between boys and girls, or between students of different races, suggesting that this intervention works across demographic groups," the study said.
The Stand2Learn desks developed by Benden and his team look not unlike normal school desks but instead feature a small foot rest, stool and slats to increase the height of the tabletop.
It remains to be seen if Texas schools will one day move to a stand-biased desk option but it appears that research like A&M's could help turn the tide.