The impact of stand-biased desks in classrooms on calorie expenditure in children

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a public health concern with significant health and economic impacts. We conducted a prospective experimental study in 4 classrooms in central Texas to determine the effect of desks that encourage standing rather than sitting on caloric expenditure in children. Students were monitored with calorie expenditure-measuring arm-bands worn for 10 days in the fall and spring. The treatment group experienced significant increases in calorie expenditure over the control group, a finding that has implications for policy and practice.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Lowess curves of the raw data for the calories burned per minute over time (8:00 am–10:00 am) among central Texas elementary school students using stand-biased desks versus control group: 2009–2010.