I have started using a standing desk at work and have been a little surprised to find it has been greeted with doubt from people I work with. One person is making fun of me – it is light-hearted but still a little prickly, if that makes sense.

I wonder if the reason for this response is the mistaken belief that I am trying to show off. I am not trying to insinuate that my sitting colleagues are “wrong”. I am worried merely about sitting all day and thought standing was a well-established way of avoiding that. Am I ignoring something obvious?

Studies dating back to the 1950s show that sitting all day makes you more likely to suffer a heart attack.Credit: John Shakespeare

I don’t think you’re missing anything. In fact, I think you’re on the right track on both questions – why your co-workers are being a bit negative, and whether sitting all day is something you should avoid.

While some of your colleagues might be good-natured in their ribbing – just having a chuckle at the novelty of your new set-up – the “pricklier” response may very well come from an assumption that you’re making a pointed........

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