Calories Burned Standing vs. Sitting
Every Little Bit Helps: The Calories You Burn When You Stand at Work
Have you ditched your office chair for a standing desk? Now that sitting too long has been firmly established as dangerous to your health — studies have shown that prolonged sitting can increase our risk of different diseases, including cancer and type 2 diabetes — more and more 9-to-5ers have been spending a little more time off their chairs. It's nice to know you're doing something good for yourself during what's usually our most sedentary hours, but it's not just your lifespan that can be affected — standing instead of sitting can affect your waistline too. Even if you do nothing else at all, replacing an hour or two of sitting with standing at your desk can help burn a few extra calories over your basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories you burn when you're not doing anything, like when you're sitting) in addition to helping your health. Just a little switch can help you burn a surprising number of calories — check out how many below.
| Hours | Calories burned sitting | Calories burned standing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 130 |
| 2 | 200 | 260 |
| 3 | 300 | 390 |
| 4 | 400 | 520 |
| 5 | 501 | 650 |
| 6 | 601 | 780 |
| 7 | 701 | 910 |
| 8 | 801 | 1,040 |
While standing in front of your computer for an entire day may not be practical (or pain-free!), it helps to see just how many more calories you can burn over time. The next time you take a stand, feel good about doing something for your health in more ways than one.
Calories based on a 130-pound person; calculations from JustStand.org.
