Time to stand up! It may prevent obesity in schoolchildren

In the supposedly bad old days, naughty schoolchildren were told to stand in a corner of the classroom — or worse still, on their desks — by teachers.

The intention was presumably to enforce discipline, evoke guilt for their transgressions and, presumably, turn them into better human beings. Weight reduction was not generally listed as a salutary effect of this form of school admonition. Now researchers in Texas say that making all children — not just the recalcitrant ones — stand for at least a significant part of their lesson time may actually prevent them from becoming overweight and even improve their academic achievements and concentration.

That means those martinet pedagogues of yore may have been on to something.

If so-called ‘stand-biased desks’ keep children slim and fit by making them burn 15% more calories than those who sit, schools — especially in certain places in India — may seek to do away with classroom furniture altogether in the name of healthy initiatives.

And the airlines could also take the cue and do a rethink on introducing the saddle-type semi-standing seats that were mooted and rejected last year, repositioning them as slimming seats. With upstanding office workers in some countries reportedly opting for thinking on their feet, so to speak, the world looks set to become stand-biased.