(CNN) You might want to stand up for this. A growing amount of research suggests that just standing — even if you don’t walk around — can have health benefits.
A recent study in Australia found that participants who spent time more standing and moving in the course of a week, based on a sensitive monitor adhered to their thigh, had lower levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. The benefits were even greater, and including reductions in body-mass index and waist circumference, among those who took more steps during the day.
The researchers of the study boiled down their findings to the simple message: “Stand up, sit less, move more.” The study was published last week in the European Heart Journal.
Although the research has been pretty clear that there are health benefits to not sitting, we are just starting to understand that standing alone may be a good alternative, said Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, director of preventive cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Lopez-Jimenez wrote an editorial that accompanied the study in the European Heart Journal.
“The reason [standing could be good] is because when we stand there are many muscles in our legs and butt and abdomen that are working to keep you standing,” he said. “Whenever muscle is used, it consumes sugar and affects triglycerides,” which could, in turn, lower cholesterol, Lopez-Jimenez said. Standing regularly could translate into lower diabetes and heart disease risk, he added.