Standing all day makes you TWICE as likely to develop heart disease than sitting for hours

Standing all day at work makes you twice as likely to develop heart disease than sitting, experts say.

Desks that allow workers to stand all day are a new trend to promote healthy living and prevent people from sitting through an entire work shift.

But a new study warns standing all day actually carries its own dangers.

Research by scientists in Ontario, Canada, revealed that people were more likely to develop heart disease, back problems and even spontaneous abortions if they are predominately standing all day.

Standing causes blood to pool down towards the legs putting more stress on the heart to circulate it back up.

Experts recommend people in predominately standing jobs to find moments to sit in order to prevent the risk of developing heart disease.  

Researchers from Work & Health in Toronto, Canada, studied people for 12 years in Ontario based on their work habits.

They analyzed 7,320 workers in their environment based on if they predominantly sat, stood or a mixture of both when working at least 15 hours a week.

Each worker had to be free of heart disease to qualify for the study.  

Over a 12-year period, the researchers looked at who developed heart disease and how it correlated with the work environment.

The study from 2003 to 2015 showed that people were twice as likely to develop heart disease if they were predominantly standing during their job as opposed to predominantly sitting.

When it came to the gender for the combination of sitting and standing jobs, the results differed. 

Men were 39 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those that sat if they did a combination of both sitting and standing. 

On the other hand, women were 80 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those that were sitting most of the day.  

The researchers took into account body mass index, physical demands of work and socio-demographic variables when analyzing each participant. 

And the results still showed that standing was more damaging to someone's health than sitting while at work. 

Prolonged standing on the job has been linked to a variety of health problems including varicose veins. 

These veins, also known as spider veins, are more common in the legs because of the heightened pressure on them from excessive standing.

It can cause pain and discomfort in the person as well as long-term risk of developing a cardiovascular problem. 

The body has to work a lot harder to pump the blood from the lower half of the body to the heart when someone is standing all day. 

So it is recommended for people with predominantly standing jobs to find time to sit when they can to help the circulation process in the body.