Resistance toward standing guidelines

A new King's College London study reveals significant public resistance and misunderstanding surrounding the UK's first health guidelines on sedentary behaviour at work, which were a response to mounting evidence on the health risks of prolonged sitting, including higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. The 2015 guidelines, written by health experts and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine , recommended that people should aim to stand or do light activity (e.g. walking) for two to four hours per workday in order to avoid the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. The authors suggested this target could be achieved by, for example, using height-adjustable 'sit-stand' desks, or taking regular breaks to stand and move around. Previous research has shown that, on average, London office workers sit for 10.5 hours each weekday, with little standing or movement during core working hours. This new study by researchers at King's, Brunel University London and Anglia Ruskin University examined public responses to UK media coverage of the 2015 guidelines. The researchers analysed all available comments posted beneath online articles by six UK newspapers, including the Guardian , Daily Mail , Daily Express , Daily Telegraph , Independent and Daily Mirror.