"The tiny lifestyle change that has made me feel better, every day"

By JAMES MOORE

My Dad is a GP and he has stood at his desk for over 20 years.

As a child I remember visiting my father at work and wondering why he stood and worked when everyone else who had a “serious job” seemed to sit. God only knows what his patients thought as they sat down to have “the doc” towering over them.

I just thought my father was a little eccentric, it was only years later that I realised he wasn’t alone. My father, Dr Peter Moore stood and worked because his bad back made prolonged sitting extremely painful.

Approximately 85% of us will experience back pain during our lifetime. It is a big problem, which does not often get talked about.

As someone who is pretty health conscious I decided to trial standing and working. It was difficult to begin with, but by breaking it up with sitting I was able to slowly increase my standing. After a couple of months I was able to stand for 80% of the day. I now get insanely annoyed when I am forced to sit for more than 30 minutes, especially when I'm on a plane or in a car.

Due to my father’s frustration with the lack of flexibility of standing solutions he decided to invent his own standing desk. I am now part of the business and we launched ZestDesk three weeks ago. ZestDesk turns any table into an adjustable standing desk in less than 30 seconds and is currently live on Kickstarter.

The more we know about the long term consequences of sitting all day, the worse the picture looks.

In fact, by switching to a standing desk, you'll reduce your risk of:

1. Heart disease
2. Type 2 Diabetes
3. Colon cancer
4. Stroke
5. Breast cancer
6. Endometrial cancer
7. Blood clot in the lungs
8. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
9. Weak abdominal core
10. Tight hip flexures
11. Limp gluteal muscles
12. Swollen ankles
13. Obesity
14. Weakened bones
15. Difficulties concentrating
16. Strained neck
17. Sore shoulders
18. Inflexible spine
19. Disk damage
20. Back pain

The reality is that humans have evolved to stand, not sit. Whether you get up every 20 minutes from your desk or stand and work it is good to incorporate movement into your day. Start small and build up from there.

Stand tall.

Would you ever get a standing desk?