The impact of sit-stand desks on full-day and work-based sedentary behavior of office workers: a systematic review

Objective: To gather the existing evidence on the impact of sit-stand desk-based interventions on working-time and full-day sedentary behavior and compare their impact across different intervention lengths. Background: Reducing sedentary behavior is vital for improving office workers’ health. Sit-stand desks promote sitting and standing alternation, but understanding their effects outside the workplace is essential for success. Methods: Studies published between January 2008 and January 2024 were searched through electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library). The quality of the studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies of the Effective Public Health Practice Project. Results: Twelve included studies showed that the intervention group experienced average reductions in full-day sedentary behavior of 68.7 min/day at 3 months, 77.7 min/day at 6 months, and 62.1 min/day at 12 months compared to the control group. For working hours sedentary behavior, reductions were observed in the intervention group at 9 weeks (73.0 min/day), 3 months (88.0 min/day), 6 months (80.8 min/day), and 12 months (48.0 min/day) relative to the control group. Conclusions: Sit-stand desk interventions can be effective in helping office workers reduce sedentary behavior in the short, medium, and long-term both at work and throughout the full-day. Application: Active workstation interventions, including sit-stand desks, educational sessions, and alert software, aim to reduce sedentary behavior among office workers. While sit-stand desks show promise in decreasing sitting time during working hours, their long-term effectiveness and impact beyond the workplace remain uncertain. This review evaluates their effectiveness across different durations, addressing both workplace and full-day impact.