Mark E. Benden

The Impact of Stand-Biased Desks in Classrooms on Calorie Expenditure in Children

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.

Ergonomics Principles Associated With Laparoscopic Surgeon Injury/Illness

Objective: This study sought to investigate the prevalence of laparoscopic surgeon injury/illness symptoms and evaluate associations between symptoms and operating room ergonomics. Background: Although laparoscopic procedures significantly benefit patients in terms of decreased recovery times and improved outcomes, they contribute to mental fatigue and musculoskeletal problems among surgeons. A variety of ergonomic interventions and applications are implemented by surgeons to reduce health problems. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge regarding a surgeon’s individual assessment of the operating room, an assessment that, in turn, would prompt the implementation of these interventions. Method: A new survey instrument solicited information from surgeons (N = 61) regarding surgeon demographics, perception, frequency of operating room equipment adjustment, and self-reported symptoms. Surgeons responded to questions addressing safety, ergonomics, and fatigue in the operating room, using a 5-point Likert-type scale that included the option undecided. Results: Surgeons who responded undecided were more likely to experience symptoms of injury/illness than respondents who were able to assess the features of their operating rooms. Symptoms were experienced by 100% of participants. The most prevalent symptoms were neck stiffness, back stiffness, and back pain. Conclusion: This study supports hypotheses that surgeons are experiencing body part discomfort and indicators of fatigue that may be associated with performing laparoscopy. Results suggest that awareness, knowledge, and utilization of ergonomic principles could protect surgeons against symptoms that lead to occupational injury. Application: The purpose of this brief report is to convey the importance of ergonomic principles in the operating room, specific to laparoscopic surgery and surgeon injury/illness symptoms.

The Evaluation of the Impact of a Stand-Biased Desk on Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity for Elementary School Students

Due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity, the association between classroom furniture and energy expenditure as well as physical activity was examined using a standing-desk intervention in three central-Texas elementary schools. Of the 480 students in the 24 classrooms randomly assigned to either a seated or stand-biased desk equipped classroom, 374 agreed to participate in a week-long data collection during the fall and spring semesters. Each participant’s data was collected using Sensewear® armbands and was comprised of measures of energy expenditure (EE) and step count. A hierarchical linear mixed effects model showed that children in seated desk classrooms had significantly lower (EE) and fewer steps during the standardized lecture time than children in stand-biased classrooms after adjusting for grade, race, and gender. The use of a standing desk showed a significant higher mean energy expenditure by 0.16 kcal/min (p < 0.0001) in the fall semester, and a higher EE by 0.08 kcal/min (p = 0.0092) in the spring semester.

Using stand/sit workstations in classrooms: lessons learned from a pilot study in Texas.

Childhood obesity has grown into a national epidemic since the 1980s. Many school-based intervention efforts that target childhood obesity involve curriculum and programming that demands instructional time, which disincentivizes school participation. Stand-biased classrooms are an environmental intervention that promotes standing rather than sitting by utilizing standing height desks that allow students to stand during normal classroom activities. The quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted in 5 first-grade classrooms in a Texas elementary school, with 2 control classrooms, 2 treatment classrooms, and 1 classroom that was a control in the fall and treatment in the spring (to allow for within-group comparisons). This intervention has been shown effective in significantly increasing caloric expenditure. In addition, the present study reveals potential behavioral effects from standing. This article presents lessons learned from the pilot study that may prove useful for others implementing similar interventions and calls for additional research on the academic benefits of standing for students.

Standing Up for Learning: A Pilot Investigation on the Neurocognitive Benefits of Stand-Biased School Desks

Standing desks have proven to be effective and viable solutions to combat sedentary behavior among children during the school day in studies around the world. However, little is known regarding the potential of such interventions on cognitive outcomes in children over time. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the neurocognitive benefits, i.e., improvements in executive functioning and working memory, of stand-biased desks and explore any associated changes in frontal brain function. 34 freshman high school students were recruited for neurocognitive testing at two time points during the school year: (1) in the fall semester and (2) in the spring semester (after 27.57 (1.63) weeks of continued exposure). Executive function and working memory was evaluated using a computerized neurocognitive test battery, and brain activation patterns of the prefrontal cortex were obtained using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Continued utilization of the stand-biased desks was associated with significant improvements in executive function and working memory capabilities. Changes in corresponding brain activation patterns were also observed. These findings provide the first preliminary evidence on the neurocognitive benefits of standing desks, which to date have focused largely on energy expenditure. Findings obtained here can drive future research with larger samples and multiple schools, with comparison groups that may in turn implicate the importance of stand-biased desks, as simple environmental changes in classrooms, on enhancing children’s cognitive functioning that drive their cognitive development and impact educational outcomes.

The effect of stand-biased desks on academic engagement: an exploratory study

Schools have been suggested as a viable avenue to combat childhood obesity. School administrators are sometimes faced with the conflicting demands of improving the health of their students and maintaining academic performance. Dynamic furniture such as stand-biased desks may be one way to address both academic and health demands placed on schools to prevent childhood obesity. Classrooms with stand-biased desks were compared with classrooms using traditional seated desks in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. The academic engagement of 282 participants was observed in the fall and spring during one academic year. The engagement of the treatment classrooms was compared with the engagement of the control classrooms. Both groups showed general increases in their academic engagement over time. Stand-biased desks do not seem to result in adverse effects on academic engagement when used in elementary classrooms. The data suggest promising results for the use of stand-biased desks in elementary school classrooms. The results suggest that stand-biased desks can be introduced in the classroom to combat childhood obesity through increasing energy expenditure without affecting academic engagement.

Obesity-specific neural cost of maintaining gait performance under complex conditions in community-dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND Recent evidence of obesity-related changes in the prefrontal cortex during cognitive and seated motor activities has surfaced; however, the impact of obesity on neural activity during ambulation remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine obesity-specific neural cost of simple and complex ambulation in older adults. METHODS Twenty non-obese and obese individuals, 65years and older, performed three tasks varying in the types of complexity of ambulation (simple walking, walking+cognitive dual-task, and precision walking). Maximum oxygenated hemoglobin, a measure of neural activity, was measured bilaterally using a portable functional near infrared spectroscopy system, and gait speed and performance on the complex tasks were also obtained. FINDINGS Complex ambulatory tasks were associated with ~2-3.5 times greater cerebral oxygenation levels and ~30-40% slower gait speeds when compared to the simple walking task. Additionally, obesity was associated with three times greater oxygenation levels, particularly during the precision gait task, despite obese adults demonstrating similar gait speeds and performances on the complex gait tasks as non-obese adults. INTERPRETATION Compared to existing studies that focus solely on biomechanical outcomes, the present study is one of the first to examine obesity-related differences in neural activity during ambulation in older adults. In order to maintain gait performance, obesity was associated with higher neural costs, and this was augmented during ambulatory tasks requiring greater precision control. These preliminary findings have clinical implications in identifying individuals who are at greater risk of mobility limitations, particularly when performing complex ambulatory tasks.

Call Center Productivity Over 6 Months Following a Standing Desk Intervention

OCCUPATIONAL ABSTRACT Stand-capable desks have been shown to successfully reduce sedentary behavior in the modern office, but whether their utilization improves cognitive productivity is not known. We compared productivity between stand-capable desk users and traditional seated desk users in a call center environment. Data were collected daily over a continuous 6-month period. We found that increased stand-capable desk use is a likely contributor to increased productivity over traditional seated desk use. These findings indicate that use of stand-capable desks as ergonomic interventions to improve physical health among employees may also positively impact their work productivity. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Many office employees are spending up to 90% of their workday seated, and employers are considering stand-capable desks as a way to increase physical activity throughout the day. When deciding on adoption of stand-capable workstations, a major concern for employers is that the benefits, over time, may not offset the initial cost of implementation. Methods: This study compared objective measures of productivity over time between a group of stand-capable desk users and a seated control group in a call center. Comparison analysis was completed for continuous 6-month secondary data for 167 employees, across two job categories. Results: Users of stand-capable desks were ∼45% more productive on a daily basis compared to their seated counterparts. Further, productivity of the stand-capable desk users significantly increased over time, from ∼23% in the 1st month to ∼53% over the next 6 months. Finally, this productivity increase was similar for employees across both job categories. Conclusions: These findings suggest important benefits of employing stand-capable desks in the work force to increase productivity. Prospective studies that include employee health status, perceptions of (dis)comfort and preference over time, along with productivity metrics, are needed to test the effectiveness of stand-capable desks on employee health and performance.

Stand-capable desk use in a call center: a six-month follow-up pilot study

• The current study is a longitudinal cohort study following stand-capable workstation intervention usage patterns in an in-situ environment.

An In Situ Study of the Habits of Users That Affect Office Chair Design and Testing

Objective: The purpose of this study was to perform an in situ assessment of office seating habits that influence chair testing and design. Background: Many chair testing parameters were derived decades ago when the average weight of people within the United States was dramatically lower and the office work tasks less computer based. Method: For the study, 51 participants were randomly selected from Brazos Valley, Texas, businesses to participate in 8-hr assessments of office seating habits. Overall results were compared with current chair testing and design assumptions. Data were collected through written survey and through data logging of seat and back contact pressure and duration with the use of the X-SENSOR™ pressure mapping device and software. Additionally, 1 day per participant of caster roll distance was recorded with the use of a caster mounted digital encoder. Participants were grouped by body mass index (BMI) and weight (BMI <35 and weight <102 kg or BMI >35 and weight >102 kg). Results: It was determined that a significant difference did exist between the groups in mean seat time per shift (p < .001), back cycles per shift (p < .002), seat cycles per shift (p < .01), and caster distance rolled per shift (p < .001). Conclusion: Several key parameters and assumptions of current chair test methods and design specifications may no longer be valid for the upper quartile of weight range of the current U.S. population. Application: The data collected in this study will enable engineers to determine whether revision of design standards for testing office seating for both normal weight and extremely obese workers is indicated.