An interesting research article published on PLoS ONE found that minimal intensity physical activity, such as standing and walking, for longer duration improves insulin action and plasma lipids more than shorter periods of moderate to vigorous exercise, such as cycling, in sedentary subjects when energy expenditure is comparable. What does this mean? If a sedentary person spends their day standing and walking, they will burn more calories, usually about 500 more, than when just sitting. Now, instead of walking and standing, that person does one hour of moderate to vigorous physical exercise burning about 500 calories, and then sits the remaining of the day. So either way the person is burning about 500 more calories over just sitting. The study found that walking and standing during the day resulted in better insulin sensitivity (a good thing) and a better lipid profile (such as cholesterol values) than if all of the calories are burned in a one hour session. These results lead to a reduced risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
The best of both worlds would be one hour of moderate to vigorous physical exercise to improved cardiovascular fitness followed by spending the bulk of the day standing or walking, such as with a standing desk.
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