The effectiveness of a 6-month intervention with sit-stand workstation in office workers: Results from the SUFHA cluster randomized controlled trial.

All participants were full-time university office workers, 76% women, so the results may not apply to office workers in other industries with different schedules or workspace layouts. The sample was small (38 participants), and the authors note they may have been underpowered for the secondary outcomes. Desk usage declined steadily over the 6 months, so the final week of accelerometer data may not reflect typical use during the earlier months. The intervention had no mandatory standing targets and fewer prompts than many comparable trials, and no financial incentive was offered. Nine of 19 desk-group participants reported higher work flux in the final week of measurement, and 13 of 19 said this reduced their ability to use the desk, which may have suppressed the measured effect. The control group also improved on body fat and quality of life, possibly because of the shared psychoeducational session, making it harder to attribute any change to the desk alone.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. No funding source is named in the text provided.

Do not read the within-group improvements in fatigue, musculoskeletal discomfort, or body fat as proof the desk works. The between-group comparison for every primary and secondary outcome was non-significant at 6 months, and the 3-month sitting-time reduction came from a subsample of 11, not the full trial.