The research we're taking a look at.
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As many suspected, a brand new study confirms that standing more can make it easier to burn more calories. But the calories burned through the day aren't enough to complete off a fun-sized candy bar.
The results of a Mayo Clinic study, published online Jan. 31. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found that adults who weighed 143 kilos, the typical weight within the study, burned 0.15 more calories per minute while standing than while sitting. So, in a six-hour day of standing as an alternative of sitting, they'll burn about 54 extra calories.
The researchers reached their conclusions by taking a look at 46 different studies, which included about 1,184 participants, with a median age of 33 years. More than half of the study subjects were men, and the researchers found that men who replaced sitting with standing burned twice as many calories as women. The researchers hypothesized that this stands out as the case because men generally have more muscle mass, which helps them burn more calories.
While 54 extra calories a day may not seem to be rather a lot, provided you don't make up the difference by eating mini candy bars, it may well add as much as 5.5 kilos of weight reduction over the course of a 12 months. Spread over 4 years, that's 22 kilos, which is nothing to scoff at.
