Standing desks lower BMI
A recent study has shown that standing desks lower the BMI trajectory in school children over a 2 year span. Twenty four classrooms at three elementary schools in Texas participated in the study. 193 students took part and those with standing desks were compared with those who sat at their desks. The researchers found that those who were standing averaged a 3% drop in BMI, whilst those at normal desks noticed a 2% increase, which was considered normal for that age. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between gender and race, suggesting that this is an effect that is generalised across many demographic groups.
Whilst it is difficult to measure the BMI of children, as they should be gaining weight over time as they grow taller and get older, percentiles can be used to gain a better idea of how that child compares to others. This is what was used in this study, and indeed many other studies that assess BMI in children. The students who were a healthy weight when they began the study remained a healthy weight at the end, suggesting that whilst other children may lose weight by using standing desks, they can also be used in prevention strategies. The researchers are hoping to further this study by performing it on a larger scale.
Read MoreOver 57,000 children become overweight whilst at primary school
New figures from cancer research UK have shown that yearly, 57,100 children who started primary school at a healthy weight were overweight or obese by the time they left. Whilst 1 in 5 children are already overweight when they start primary school, 1 in 3 are overweight by the time they leave. The authors at Cancer Research UK claim that although exercise is encouraged in schools and a sugar tax is being introduced, this won’t be enough to curb the worryingly high levels of overweight in England’s schools. In order to raise awareness of the problem the charity erected an XL sized school uniforms shop, to highlight the differences between healthy weight and overweight children.
According to Cancer Research UK, being overweight or obese is the single biggest cause of preventable cancer in the UK after smoking, and it is accountable for 18,100 cases every year. Alison Cox, the director of prevention at the charity was concerned with the governments long-awaited childhood obesity strategy, explaining that she felt it had failed children and that the plan to tackle childhood obesity was not working. She went on to explain that whilst the government had gone a certain way to curb childhood obesity, with measures such as the banning of junk food advertising during shows aimed at children, they must do more to police this and ban them during adult TV shows. Overall, these worrying figures show how prevalent obesity is becoming in schools and that more must be done to prevent young children from gaining too much weight.
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