Office health to be boosted by stand up campaign

Office workers at Leicester’s three hospitals are being encouraged to stand up more on the job as part of a new health drive.

High levels of sitting have been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer but something as simple as regularly breaking up sitting by standing has been shown to benefit health

Staff at Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital are being asked to take part in a new study called SMArT Work.

SMArT Work is providing NHS office workers with the opportunity to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting at work by providing them with a height-adjustable desk or desk attachment that will allow them to switch between sitting and standing to work. The study will evaluate how this impacts on health over a 12 month time period.

The project is a collaborative effort between Loughborough University, University of Leicester and the Leicester Diabetes Centre, led by Professor Melanie Davies and Professor Kamlesh Khunti (pictured). It has been funded by the NIHR Department of Health Policy Research Programme and supported by the NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit has funded the project as well as the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM).