ReviewPreventive medicine reports2016
The effects of standing desks within the school classroom: A systematic review.
Review in Preventive medicine reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Overflow Effects of Movement Behaviour Change Interventions for Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- School-related sedentary behaviours and indicators of health and well-being among children and youth: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Classroom Active Desks on Children and Adolescents' Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Academic Achievements and Overall Health: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Determinants of change in accelerometer-assessed sedentary behaviour in children 0 to 6 years of age: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2019Pooled it
- Sedentary behaviour across the primary-secondary school transition: A systematic review.Preventive medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Stand Out in Class: Investigating the Potential Impact of a Sit-Stand Desk Intervention on Children's Sitting and Physical Activity during Class Time and after School.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- College Classroom Instructors Can Effectively Promote Standing among Students Provided with Standing Desks.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Stand Out in Class: restructuring the classroom environment to reduce sitting time - findings from a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Trial
- Effects of Installing Height-Adjustable Standing Desks on Daily and Domain-Specific Duration of Standing, Sitting, and Stepping in 3rd Grade Primary School Children.Frontiers in public health · 2020Trial
- Stand-Biased Desk Intervention on Sleep Quality of High School Students: A Pilot Study Using Tri-Axial Accelerometery.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Effect and process evaluation of implementing standing desks in primary and secondary schools in Belgium: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Trial
- A primary school active break programme (ACTI-BREAK): study protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.Trials · 2017Trial
- Reducing classroom sedentary behaviour: a scoping review of interventions and student involvement.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- The impact and perceptions of standing desk interventions on movement patterns and physical, mental, and academic outcomes in university students: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Effects of Postural Changes Using a Standing Desk on the Craniovertebral Angle, Muscle Fatigue, Work Performance, and Discomfort in Individuals with a Forward Head Posture.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Acute Effects of Walking and Standing on Executive Function in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Feasibility Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Do You Want to Increase Physical Activity in Adolescents? A School-Based Physical Activity Program Could Be an Efficient Way.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Decreasing Sedentary Behaviors in Youth to Prevent and Manage Childhood Obesity: Is It Realistic?Current atherosclerosis reports · 2023Review
- The impact of height-adjustable desks and classroom prompts on classroom sitting time, social, and motivational factors among adolescents.Journal of sport and health science · 2023Article
- Stand-Biased Desks Impact on Cognition in Elementary Students Using a Within-Classroom Crossover Design.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe school classroom environment often dictates that pupils sit for prolonged periods which may be detrimental for children's health. Replacing traditional school desks with standing desks may reduce sitting time and provide other benefits. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impact of standing desks within the school classroom.
methodStudies published in English up to and including June 2015 were located from online databases and manual searches. Studies implementing standing desks within the school classroom, including children and/or adolescents (aged 5-18 years) which assessed the impact of the intervention using a comparison group or pre-post design were included.
resultsEleven studies were eligible for inclusion; all were set in primary/elementary schools, and most were conducted in the USA (n = 6). Most were non-randomised controlled trials (n = 7), with durations ranging from a single time point to five months. Energy expenditure (measured over 2 h during school day mornings) was the only outcome that consistently demonstrated positive results (three out of three studies). Evidence for the impact of standing desks on sitting, standing, and step counts was mixed. Evidence suggested that implementing standing desks in the classroom environment appears to be feasible, and not detrimental to learning.
conclusionsInterventions utilising standing desks in classrooms demonstrate positive effects in some key outcomes but the evidence lacks sufficient quality and depth to make strong conclusions. Future studies using randomised control trial designs with larger samples, longer durations, with sitting, standing time and academic achievement as primary outcomes, are warranted.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.