Stand more, burn (slightly) more calories

Research we're watching

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As many people have suspected, a new study confirms that standing more can help you burn more calories. But the number of calories it burns in the course of the day isn't even enough to work off a fun-size candy bar.

The results of a Mayo Clinic study, published online January 31 by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found that adults who weighed 143 pounds, the average weight in the study, burned 0.15 more calories per minute while they stood than when they sat. So, in a six-hour day of standing instead of sitting, they would burn some 54 extra calories.

The researchers came to their conclusions by looking at 46 different studies, including some 1,184 participants, who were on average 33 years old. More than half of the study subjects were men, and the researchers found that men who replaced sitting with standing burned twice as many calories than women who did the same. The researchers speculated this might be the case because men typically have more muscle mass, which helps them burn more calories.

While 54 extra calories a day may not sound like a lot, provided you don't erase the difference by eating mini candy bars, that could add up to a 5.5-pound weight loss over the course of a year. Stretched out over four years, that's 22 pounds, which is nothing to scoff at.