Could Standing Desks Be The Low-Cost Solution To The Childhood Obesity Epidemic?
According to recent research, students who used standing desks experienced a 5.2 percent decrease in their body mass index percentile over those using traditional school desks.
Sacramento Bee:
Can Stand-Up Desks Help Kids Avoid Becoming Obese?
The study, published recently in the American Journal of Public Health, covered third- and fourth-grade students at three Texas elementary schools. Some sat at traditional desks, while others used a “stand-biased” desk, which had a footrest and stool so children could get off their feet when needed. After two years, those at standing desks experienced a 5.2 percent decrease in their body mass index percentile than those using traditional school desks. (BMI or body mass index is a measurement of body fat and an indicator of obesity.) The rates were adjusted for grade, race and gender. (Buck, 9/19)
In other news —
KQED:
Lipedema: The Fat Disorder That Millions Have But No One Has Heard Of
Lipedema is a lymphatic disease that is thought to affect 10 to 17 million people in America each year, mostly women. Exact patient estimates are not available because it’s hard to diagnose. In fact, many lipedema patients don’t even know they have it. Neither do their physicians, who often assume their patients are obese. (McClurg, 9/19)