Dr Nick Fuller
Leading Obesity Expert at the University of Sydney and founder of Interval Weight Loss.
If you’ve ever heard standing touted as a secret weapon for weight loss, you’re not alone. In our increasingly sedentary world, it’s common to wonder whether something as simple as standing more could actually make a meaningful difference to body weight and overall health. The short answer is yes — but with nuance. Standing itself burns more energy than sitting, improves blood flow and metabolic function, and is a practical piece of a larger active-lifestyle strategy. However, standing isn’t a “magic bullet” — it’s a foundation habit that supports bigger changes like regular walking, strength training and healthy eating.
Let’s unpack how your body responds when you stand more, why too much sitting contributes to weight gain, roughly how many calories standing can burn, and how you can build everyday habits that truly support weight loss.
What Happens to the Body When You Stand More
When you stand rather than sit, your muscles — especially in your legs, core and back — engage to support your posture. This increases muscle activation compared with the near-zero engagement required when seated. As a result, standing boosts your total daily energy expenditure (the number of calories your body uses throughout a typical day) slightly above sitting. Your cardiovascular system also responds by increasing blood flow and improving oxygen delivery compared with a totally sedentary posture.
Standing also triggers subtle neuromuscular activity known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) — the unconscious movements your body makes throughout the day — which accumulates extra calories burned over time. While standing alone won’t burn as many calories as structured exercise, it sets the stage for more movement and helps reduce periods of sedentary behaviour that are tied to metabolic risk.
Why Prolonged Sitting Leads to More Weight
Sitting for long stretches — especially without breaks — slows your metabolic rate because the muscles involved in standing and moving become inactive. When muscles are inactive, your body burns fewer calories at rest. Over time, the calories you don’t burn can accumulate into weight gain if they’re not offset by diet or activity.
Prolonged sitting is also associated with poorer blood sugar regulation and decreased insulin sensitivity, both of which can contribute to increased fat storage and appetite dysregulation. Research consistently links high amounts of daily sitting time with higher body mass index and greater risk of metabolic diseases, even in people who exercise regularly. Sitting for hours at a time also increases stiffness, reduces circulation and encourages patterns of low energy that make people less likely to be active overall.
How Many Calories Can You Burn While Standing
Standing burns modestly more calories than sitting — roughly 15–20% more, depending on your body size and posture. While these figures vary, a person who would burn about 60–80 calories per hour while sitting might burn closer to 80–100+ calories per hour by standing instead. The exact number depends on factors such as body weight, muscle mass and how much you fidget or move while standing.
These extra calories add up over time. For example, standing for an additional two hours per day could mean burning an extra ~30–40 calories daily — which might sound small, but over weeks and months it contributes to a calorie balance that favours weight maintenance or slow loss when combined with healthy eating and activity.
Benefits of Standing More
Standing engages more muscle groups simply by supporting your body against gravity. This means your body needs a bit more energy than it does in a seated position — and that slight bump in daily expenditure adds up over time.
Standing encourages blood to circulate more effectively through your legs and core. Better circulation can reduce swelling, stiffness and the risk of pooling blood that comes from long sitting periods.
When you stand, muscles in your back, hips and legs remain gently engaged, which helps reduce stiffness from prolonged postures. This can make you feel more comfortable and open up your range of motion for later activity.
Standing naturally encourages more upright posture than slouching in a chair. Over time, improved posture can reduce back pain and allow easier engagement in strength and mobility exercises.
Short breaks from sitting — even just standing up and moving briefly — have been shown to help reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes. Better glycaemic regulation is linked with improved weight outcomes and reduced cardiovascular risk.
Standing is a step toward more movement. When you start standing more, you’re more likely to notice opportunities to walk, stretch or shift position — all of which increase daily calorie burn through NEAT.
Breaking up long bouts of sitting with standing or light activity helps interrupt sedentary behaviour patterns that are linked with weight gain, poor cardio-metabolic health and low energy levels.
Practical Ways to Lose Weight
Standing more is helpful, but pairing it with other evidence-based habits creates a stronger momentum toward real weight loss and improved metabolic health.
Aim to walk daily — even short bouts scattered through your day help. Walking increases calorie burn, strengthens cardiovascular fitness and supports mood.
Building muscle through resistance training helps increase resting metabolic rate, which means your body burns more calories even at rest.
Protein supports fullness, helps stabilise blood sugar and preserves muscle mass — especially during weight loss phases. Include lean proteins at each meal.
Being mindful of portion sizes helps keep calorie intake aligned with weight loss goals. Tools like plate methods or visual cues support balanced eating.
Liquid calories add up fast. Swapping sugary drinks for water or unsweetened beverages reduces empty calories without compromising hydration.
Good sleep supports hunger-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin. Adults generally benefit from 7–9 hours of quality sleep per night.
Understanding your energy balance — the relationship between calories eaten and calories burned — helps you make informed choices that align with your weight goals.
Water supports digestion, metabolism and satiety. Sometimes thirst disguises itself as hunger, leading to unnecessary snacking.
Stress can disrupt appetite hormones and drive emotional eating. Mindfulness, breathing exercises, time outdoors and structured routines help keep stress in check.
In Summary
Standing more can support weight loss — not as a standalone solution but as part of an active, mindful lifestyle. It modestly increases energy expenditure compared with sitting, improves circulation, helps break up sedentary time and complements habits like walking, strength training and balanced nutrition. When combined with consistent sleep, hydration and stress management, standing becomes one pillar in sustainable weight loss and better metabolic health.
If you’d like, I can add a printable 7-day standing and movement challenge to help kickstart daily activity. ?
Dr Nick Fuller is the founder of Interval Weight Loss and is a leading obesity expert at the University of Sydney with a Ph.D. in Obesity Treatment. Dr Fuller is also the author of three best-selling books and his work been published in top ranked journals in the medical field, including JAMA, Lancet and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.