By now, you’ve probably heard about the negative health effects of sitting too much. A sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of mental illness, cancer, cardiovascular disease and of course, unwanted weight gain. But that poses a problem to people who have office jobs – they can’t walk and work at the same time. But they can stand, and according to new research, that’s exactly what they should do. 

The European Journal of Preventative Cardiology recently published a study that looked at the health benefits of standing versus sitting. They observed close to 1,200 men and women.

Researchers found that women can burn 0.1 calories for every minute they stand. Men, on the other hand, can burn up to 0.19 calories per minute. To explain this difference, the study suggested that this is due to the fact that men usually have more muscle mass.

Now, that doesn’t sound very impressive, but every little bit counts. And researchers estimated that for a person who weighs approximately 143 pounds, standing for six hours equates to burning about 54 calories a day. Over the course of a year, that comes to about 5.5 pounds of fat.

Standing may not burn as many calories as walking and exercise, but it still burns more calories than mere sitting, as previous research discovered, too.

But apart from weight loss, standing, instead of sitting, can be a great way to improve blood sugar levels and posture.

Therefore, if it’s possible, see if you can have a standing desk at your office, and maybe even if your home. It’s an effortless way to increase health and wellness.