Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCalories BurnedExercise’s EffectsRisks of Being SedentaryIncreasing Daily Activity
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Calories Burned
Exercise’s Effects
Risks of Being Sedentary
Increasing Daily Activity
Your body burns calories both at rest and with activity. The more you engage your muscles—even while simply standing—the more calories you burn. While the number of calories you burn standing vs. sitting is small, adding more activity to your day can yield significant health benefits.
To achieve weight loss, you must expend more calories than you take in through food. In addition to losing weight and fat, it’s well established that moving and exercising canreduce health risks.
This article looks at why too much sitting down is not good for your overall health and how standing and, better yet, moving can reduce those risks.
vgajic / Getty Images
Calories Burned Standing vs. Sitting
Your bodyburns calorieseven at rest to maintain vital functions like breathing, heartbeat, blood circulation, digestion, and basic cellular metabolism. Engaging muscles increases your energy needs, burning more calories.
In standing vs. sitting, you are engaging your postural muscles, which is a factor in why standing burns a few more calories per hour than sitting.This is in addition to the calories you expend in rising from sitting to standing. Your calorie expenditure through movement depends on your age, weight, sex, and height.
For example:
On a daily basis, if you stand more of the time than you sit, that small difference can add up to a significant amount of calories burned over time.
According to a study in theEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiology, standing six hours a day rather than sitting can lead to a weight loss of more than 5 pounds in a year.That’s a lot of standing, and your calorie intake needs to remain the same.
Standing DesksIf you have a desk job, you might consider using a standing desk or one that raises and lowers to change from sitting to standing during the workday.
Standing Desks
If you have a desk job, you might consider using a standing desk or one that raises and lowers to change from sitting to standing during the workday.
Burning Calories Through Exercise
The more active you are, the more calories you burn. If you casually walk the dog, you’ll be burning almost twice as many calories per minute as being inactive, either sitting or standing.
One standard measure of calorie expenditure is the metabolic equivalent of task (MET). MET is a measure of oxygen consumption that equals 1 calorie per kilogram of body weight per hour.When you are at rest, you expend 1 MET. Sitting is rated at about 1.3 MET. Standing motionless is about 1.8 MET.
More vigorous activities that engage your musclesraise your heart and breathing rate. This increases the calorie burn much more compared to standing or sitting.
Taking your dog for a brisk walk instead of a stroll increases your calorie expenditure from about 3 METs to 4.8 METs. The increase in MET from a relaxed walk to a brisk walk will expend about 40% more calories.
How much exercise is enough? For the average adult, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate to intense physical exercise (such as 30 minutes five times a week) and doing some muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week.
The Bottom Line on Losing WeightIf you want to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you take in. This is called acalorie deficit. For a weight loss of 1 pound, you need to burn 500 more calories per day than you consume for one week.Dieting with excessive calorie restriction is a less healthy way to lose pounds than increasing exercise and adopting a moderate diet that ensures you are meeting your nutritional needs.Exercise will also benefit your heart, lungs, muscles, and bones.
The Bottom Line on Losing Weight
If you want to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you take in. This is called acalorie deficit. For a weight loss of 1 pound, you need to burn 500 more calories per day than you consume for one week.Dieting with excessive calorie restriction is a less healthy way to lose pounds than increasing exercise and adopting a moderate diet that ensures you are meeting your nutritional needs.Exercise will also benefit your heart, lungs, muscles, and bones.
If you want to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you take in. This is called acalorie deficit. For a weight loss of 1 pound, you need to burn 500 more calories per day than you consume for one week.
Dieting with excessive calorie restriction is a less healthy way to lose pounds than increasing exercise and adopting a moderate diet that ensures you are meeting your nutritional needs.Exercise will also benefit your heart, lungs, muscles, and bones.
Health Risks of Being Sedentary
A sedentary lifestyle, which means you sit a great deal of the time, is a risk factor for many common and serious health conditions.These include:
The CDC also notes that there are few lifestyle choices you can make that will improve your health as much as an exercise program. Your bones and muscles become stronger, yourheartand lung health improve, you can drop some excess weight, and it can even improve your mood and cognition.
Before beginning any exercise regime if you have been sedentary or have health conditions, check with your healthcare provider before you start.
Increasing Your Daily Activity and Reducing Being Sedentary
If exercise seems to difficult or unpleasant to contemplate, you can still break up the time spent sitting. Simply walking around the house, at work, or during class breaks at school burns more calories than standing or sitting.
Tracking devices and smartwatches can alert you if you haven’t moved in a certain amount of time and remind you to meet goals to stand, move, and exercise periodically. If time slips away from you while you’re working or lounging, they can be a good reminder to burn a few more calories with some activity.
These devices can allow you to set an activity goal to meet each day, such assteps per day, active minutes, or calories burned through activity. Having a goal may motivate you to find ways to be more active throughout the day.
A Word From Verywell
—KARINA TOLENTINO, RD, CHWC, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Summary
The health benefits of simply standing over sitting can help burn calories. Add 30 minutes daily of moderate to intense exercise five times a week, and you’ll reach the recommended guidelines, especially if you add in muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week.
Your heart, lungs, muscles, and even your brain will be better for taking even small steps to go from sedentary to active.
Lower Back Pain After Deadlifts? Here’s How to Recover (and Prevent It)
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Amaro-Gahete FJ, Sanchez-Delgado G, Alcantara JMA, et al.Energy expenditure differences across lying, sitting, and standing positions in young healthy adults.PLOS ONE. 2019;14(6):e0217029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217029Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al.2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-81. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, Supervia M, et al.Differences of energy expenditure while sitting versus standing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Prev Cardiol.2018;25(5):522-538. doi:10.1177/2047487317752186Heydenreich J, Schutz Y, Melzer K, Kayser B.Comparison of conventional and individualized 1-MET values for expressing maximum aerobic metabolic rate and habitual activity related energy expenditure.Nutrients. 2019;11(2):458. doi:10.3390/nu11020458Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: An overview.Koliaki C, Spinos T, Spinou Μ, Brinia ΜE, Mitsopoulou D, Katsilambros N.Defining the optimal dietary approach for safe, effective and sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese adults.Healthcare(Basel). 2018;6(3):73. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030073Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Steps for losing weight.Park JH, Moon JH, Kim HJ, Kong MH, Oh YH.Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks.Korean J Fam Med. 2020;41(6):365-373. doi:10.4082/kjfm.20.0165Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of physical activity.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Amaro-Gahete FJ, Sanchez-Delgado G, Alcantara JMA, et al.Energy expenditure differences across lying, sitting, and standing positions in young healthy adults.PLOS ONE. 2019;14(6):e0217029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217029Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al.2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-81. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, Supervia M, et al.Differences of energy expenditure while sitting versus standing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Prev Cardiol.2018;25(5):522-538. doi:10.1177/2047487317752186Heydenreich J, Schutz Y, Melzer K, Kayser B.Comparison of conventional and individualized 1-MET values for expressing maximum aerobic metabolic rate and habitual activity related energy expenditure.Nutrients. 2019;11(2):458. doi:10.3390/nu11020458Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: An overview.Koliaki C, Spinos T, Spinou Μ, Brinia ΜE, Mitsopoulou D, Katsilambros N.Defining the optimal dietary approach for safe, effective and sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese adults.Healthcare(Basel). 2018;6(3):73. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030073Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Steps for losing weight.Park JH, Moon JH, Kim HJ, Kong MH, Oh YH.Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks.Korean J Fam Med. 2020;41(6):365-373. doi:10.4082/kjfm.20.0165Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of physical activity.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Amaro-Gahete FJ, Sanchez-Delgado G, Alcantara JMA, et al.Energy expenditure differences across lying, sitting, and standing positions in young healthy adults.PLOS ONE. 2019;14(6):e0217029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217029Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al.2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-81. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, Supervia M, et al.Differences of energy expenditure while sitting versus standing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Prev Cardiol.2018;25(5):522-538. doi:10.1177/2047487317752186Heydenreich J, Schutz Y, Melzer K, Kayser B.Comparison of conventional and individualized 1-MET values for expressing maximum aerobic metabolic rate and habitual activity related energy expenditure.Nutrients. 2019;11(2):458. doi:10.3390/nu11020458Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: An overview.Koliaki C, Spinos T, Spinou Μ, Brinia ΜE, Mitsopoulou D, Katsilambros N.Defining the optimal dietary approach for safe, effective and sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese adults.Healthcare(Basel). 2018;6(3):73. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030073Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Steps for losing weight.Park JH, Moon JH, Kim HJ, Kong MH, Oh YH.Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks.Korean J Fam Med. 2020;41(6):365-373. doi:10.4082/kjfm.20.0165Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of physical activity.
Amaro-Gahete FJ, Sanchez-Delgado G, Alcantara JMA, et al.Energy expenditure differences across lying, sitting, and standing positions in young healthy adults.PLOS ONE. 2019;14(6):e0217029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217029
Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al.2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-81. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12
Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, Supervia M, et al.Differences of energy expenditure while sitting versus standing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Prev Cardiol.2018;25(5):522-538. doi:10.1177/2047487317752186
Heydenreich J, Schutz Y, Melzer K, Kayser B.Comparison of conventional and individualized 1-MET values for expressing maximum aerobic metabolic rate and habitual activity related energy expenditure.Nutrients. 2019;11(2):458. doi:10.3390/nu11020458
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: An overview.
Koliaki C, Spinos T, Spinou Μ, Brinia ΜE, Mitsopoulou D, Katsilambros N.Defining the optimal dietary approach for safe, effective and sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese adults.Healthcare(Basel). 2018;6(3):73. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030073
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Steps for losing weight.
Park JH, Moon JH, Kim HJ, Kong MH, Oh YH.Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks.Korean J Fam Med. 2020;41(6):365-373. doi:10.4082/kjfm.20.0165
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of physical activity.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
