Reducing Sitting among College Students by Promoting Standing Work Stations in Hallways: A Pilot Feasibility Study
Keywords:
sitting, standing, college students, sedentary behaviorAbstract
Purpose: Strategies to reduce extended sitting include the use of standing (or adjustable height) workstations, yet little research has explored their feasibility in college settings. The purpose of this study was to describe student use and perceptions of hallway standing work stations. Methods: Standing work stations (with laptop and cell phone charging capability) were installed in a hallway near classrooms. Emails providing information about the workstations and encouraging their use were sent to students enrolled in classes near the stations. Data on use of the stations was collected for 8 weeks via a QR-directed login. Students who logged use of the stations were sent a follow-up survey. Results: Logged use of stations averaged 14.75 instances per week, primarily between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Slightly over 12% of students enrolled in nearby classes logged use of stations at least once. Survey responses indicated typical station use length was 15-45 minutes, and 95% of users liked the stations and desired more across campus. Conclusion: Creating standing work stations in hallways and promoting them with email and visual prompts was an inexpensive strategy to change the university environment to create opportunities to reduce sitting. Many students chose to stand between classes.
Downloads
References
Agency Central. (n.d.). Standing vs. sitting: Which is better? https://www.agencycentral.co.uk/articles/standing-vs-sitting-which-is-better/
Alkhajah, T. A., Reeves, M. M., Eakin, E. G., Winkler, E. A., Owen, N., & Healy, G. N. (2012). Sit–stand workstations: A pilot intervention to reduce office sitting time. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43(3), 298-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.05.027
Aminian, S., Hinckson, E. A., & Stewart, T. (2015). Modifying the classroom environment to increase standing and reduce sitting. Building Research & Information, 43(5), 631-645. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2015.1058093
Benden, M. E., Blake, J. J., Wendel, M. L., & Huber Jr, J. C. (2011). The impact of stand-biased desks in classrooms on calorie expenditure in children. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), 1433-1436. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300072
Benden, M. E., Wendel, M. L., Jeffrey, C. E., Zhao, H., & Morales, M.L. (2012). Within-subjects analysis of the effects of a stand-biased classroom intervention on energy expenditure. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 15(2), 9-19.
Benden, M. E., Zhao, H., Jeffrey, C. E., Wendel, M. L., & Blake, J. J. (2014). The evaluation of the impact of a stand-biased desk on energy expenditure and physical activity for elementary school students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(9), 9361-9375. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110909361
Benzo, R. M., Gremaud, A. L., Jerome, M., & Carr, L. J. (2016). Learning to stand: The acceptability and feasibility of introducing standing desks into college classrooms. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(8), 823. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13080823
Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bajaj, R. R., Silver, M. A., Mitchell, M. S., & Alter, D. A. (2015). Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(2), 123-132. https://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1651
Blake, J. J., Benden, M. E., & Wendel, M. L. (2012). Using stand/sit workstations in classrooms: Lessons learned from a pilot study in Texas. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 18(5), 412-415. DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0b013e3182215048
Carr, L. J., Swift, M., Ferrer, A., & Benzo, R. (2016). Cross-sectional examination of long-term access to sit–stand desks in a professional office setting. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(1), 96-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.07.013
Chrisman, M., Ye, S., Reddy, A., & Purdy, W. (2020). Assessing sitting and standing in college students using height-adjustable desks. Health Education Journal, 79(6), 735-744. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896920901837
Clemes, S. A., Bingham, D. D., Pearson, N., Chen, Y. L., Edwardson, C. L., McEachan, R. R., Tolfrey, K., Cale, L., Richardson, G., Fray, M., Altunkaya, J., Bandelow, S., Jaicim, N. B., Salmon, J., Dunstan, D. W., & Barber, S. E. (2020). Stand out in class: Restructuring the classroom environment to reduce sitting time–findings from a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00958-z
Cowgill, B. O., Perez, V., Gerdes, E., Sadda, A., Ly, C., Slusser, W., & Leung, A. (2021). Get up, stand up, stand up for your health! Faculty and student perspectives on addressing prolonged sitting in university settings. Journal of American College Health, 69(2), 198-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1661419
Danquah, I. H., Kloster, S., Holtermann, A., Aadahl, M., Bauman, A., Ersbøll, A. K., & Tolstrup, J. S. (2017). Take a stand! A multi-component intervention aimed at reducing sitting time among office workers-a cluster randomized trial. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(1), 128-140. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw009
Erwin, H., Beighle, A., Routen, A., & Montemayor, B. (2018). Perceptions of using sit-to-stand desks in a middle school classroom. Health Promotion Practice, 19(1), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839917730046
Franklin, B. A., Brinks, J., & Sternburgh, L. (2010). Move more, sit less: A first‐line, public health preventive strategy? Preventive Cardiology, 13(4), 203-208. doi:10.1111/j.1751-7141.2010.00075.x
Garrett, G., Benden, M., Mehta, R., Pickens, A., Peres, S. C., & Zhao, H. (2016). Call center productivity over 6 months following a standing desk intervention. IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, 4(2-3), 188-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2016.1183534
Green, R. M., Graves, M., Edwards, C., Hebert, E. P., & Hollander, D. B. (2020). Student mood and responses to sitting versus standing in the college classroom. American Journal of Health Studies, 35(4), 240-248. https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2020.257
Hahn, R. A., Teutsch, S. M., Rothenberg, R. B., & Marks, J. S. (1990). Excess deaths from nine chronic diseases in the United States, 1986. Journal of the American Medical Association, 264(20), 2654-2659. doi:10.1001/jama.1990.03450200062032
Healy, G. N., Dunstan, D. W., Salmon, J., Cerin, E., Shaw, J. E., Zimmet, P. Z., & Owen, N. (2008). Breaks in sedentary time: Beneficial associations with metabolic risk. Diabetes Care, 31(4), 661-666. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc07-2046
Hedge, A., & Ray, E. J. (2004). Effects of an electronic height-adjustable worksurface on computer worker musculoskeletal discomfort and productivity. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 48(8), 1091-1095.
Hinckson, E. A., Aminian, S., Ikeda, E., Stewart, T., Oliver, M., Duncan, S., & Schofield, G. (2013). Acceptability of standing workstations in elementary schools: A pilot study. Preventive Medicine, 56(1), 82-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.10.014
Jerome, M., Janz, K. F., Baquero, B., & Carr, L. J. (2017). Introducing sit-stand desks increases classroom standing time among university students. Preventive Medicine Reports, 8, 232-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.10.019
Katzmarzyk, P. T., Church, T. S., Craig, C. L., & Bouchard, C. (2009). Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(5), 998-1005. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181930355
Keadle, S. K., Conroy, D. E., Buman, M. P., Dunstan, D. W., & Matthews, C. E. (2017). Targeting reductions in sitting time to increase physical activity and improve health. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 49(8), 1572-1582. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001257
Laine, H., Araújo-Soares, V., Haukkala, A., & Hankonen, N. (2017). Acceptability of strategies to reduce student sitting: A mixed-methods study with college teachers. Health Promotion Practice, 18(1), 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839916677209
MacEwen, B. T., MacDonald, D. J., & Burr, J. F. (2015). A systematic review of standing and treadmill desks in the workplace. Preventive Medicine, 70, 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.11.011
Matthews, C. E., Chen, K, Y., Freedson, P. S., Buchowski, M. S., Beech, B. M., Pate, R. R., & Troiano, R. P. (2008). Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors in the United States, 2003-2004. American Journal of Epidemiology, 167(7), 875-881. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwm390
Minges, K. E., Chao, A. M., Irwin, M. L., Owen, N., Park, C., Whittemore, R., & Salmon, J. (2016). Classroom standing desks and sedentary behavior: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 137(2), e20153087. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-3087
Mnich, C., Bachert, P., Kunkel, J., Wäsche, H., Neumann, R., & Nigg, C. R. (2019). Stand up, students! Decisional cues reduce sedentary behavior in university students. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00230
Morris, J. N., & Heady, J. A. (1953). Mortality in relation to the physical activity of work: A preliminary report on experience in middle age. British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 10, 245-254.
Owen, N., Healy, G. N., Matthews, C. E., & Dunstan, D. W. (2010). Too much sitting: The population-health science of sedentary behavior. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 38(3), 105-113. doi: 10.1097/JES.0b013e3181e373a2
Peterson, N. E., Sirard, J. R., Kulbok, P. A., DeBoer, M. D., & Erickson, J. M. (2018). Sedentary behavior and physical activity of young adult university students. Research in Nursing & Health, 41(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21845
Plotnikoff, R., & Karunamuni, N. (2012). Reducing sitting time: The new workplace health priority. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 67(3), 125-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2012.697407
Pronk, N. P., Katz, A. S., Lowry, M., & J. R. (2012). Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: The Take-a-Stand Project, 2011. Preventing Chronic Disease, 9, 110323. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888.pcd9.110323
Ratey, J. J., & Loehr, J. E. (2011). The positive impact of physical activity on cognition during adulthood: A review of underlying mechanisms, evidence and recommendations. Reviews in the Neurosciences, 22(2), 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1515/rns.2011.017
Rouse, P. C., & Biddle, S. J. (2010). An ecological momentary assessment of the physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns of university students. Health Education Journal, 69(1), 116-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/001789691036314
Sherry, A. P., Pearson, N., & Clemes, S. A. (2016). The effects of standing desks within the school classroom: A systematic review. Preventive Medicine Reports, 3, 338-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.03.016
Shrestha, N., Kukkonen‐Harjula, K. T., Verbeek, J. H., Ijaz, S., Hermans, V., & Pedisic, Z. (2018). Workplace interventions for reducing sitting at work. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12, CD010912. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010912.pub5
Sprengeler, O., Hebestreit, A., Gohres, H., Bucksch, J., & Buck, C. (2020). Effects of installing height-adjustable standing desks on daily and domain-specific duration of standing, sitting, and stepping in 3rd grade primary school children. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 396. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00396
Strieter, L., Arena, R., & Huizar, M. (2021). Moving more and sitting less in schools: What’s the next step? Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 64, 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2020.12.002
Sudholz, B., Timperio, A., Ridgers, N. D., Dunstan, D. W., Baldock, R., Holland, B., & Salmon, J. (2016). The impact and feasibility of introducing height-adjustable desks on adolescents' sitting in a secondary school classroom. AIMS Public Health, 3(2), 274-287. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2016.2.274
Tremblay, M. S., Colley, R. C., Saunders, T. J., Healy, G. N., & Owen, N. (2010). Physiological and health implications of a sedentary lifestyle. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 35(6), 725-740. https://doi.org/10.1139/H10-079
Van Uffelen, J. G., Van Gellecum, Y. R., Burton, N. W., Peeters, G., Heesch, K. C., & Brown, W. J. (2013). Sitting-time, physical activity, and depressive symptoms in mid-aged women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45(3), 276-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.009
Warburton, D. E., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. (2006). Health benefits of physical activity: The evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 801-809. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.051351
Weatherson, K. A., Wunderlich, K. B., & Faulkner, G. E. (2020). Impact of a low-cost standing desk on reducing workplace sitting (StandUP UBC): A randomised controlled trial. Applied Ergonomics, 82, 102951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102951
Wilks, S., Mortimer, M., & Nylén, P. (2006). The introduction of sit–stand worktables: Aspects of attitudes, compliance and satisfaction. Applied Ergonomics, 37(3), 359-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2005.06.007
Wilmot, E. G., Edwardson, C. L., Achana, F. A., Davies, M. J., Gorely, T., Gray, L. J., Khunti, K., & Biddle, S. J. H. (2012). Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetologia, 55(11), 2895-2905. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z
World Health Organization (2010). Global recommendations on physical activity for health. World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Edward Hebert, Hannah Reck, Ryan Green, Charity Bryan
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.