Take the load on your feet

Office workers need to spend less time sitting and more time standing, a growing chorus of experts tells Liu Zhihua.

Sitting kills. Many studies have showed a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for many health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity. A more recent study over a 14-year period by the American Cancer Society finds that women who sat for more than six hours a day were about 40 percent more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat fewer than three hours a day. Men were about 20 percent more likely to die, according to the study. Fortunately, it seems that people are becoming aware of the health risks of extended period of sitting. Some have already adopted healthier poses for work.

Meng Qingguang, 26, founder of a startup IT company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, no longer sits at work all the time.