美国上班族流行站着工作

MarkRamirez,aseniorexecutiveatAOL,couldworkinthecushiestleatherchair,ifhewanted.No,thanks.Hepreferstostandmostofthedayatadeskraisedabovestomachlevel.

“I'vegotmykneesbent,Ifeeltotallyalive,”hesaid.“Itfeelsmorenaturaltostand.”

Inthepastfewyears,standinghasbecomethenewsittingfor10percentofAOLemployeesatthefirm'sVirginiacampus,partofastandingovationamongaccountants,programmers,telemarketersandotherofficeworkersacrossthenation.

GeekDesk,aCaliforniafirmthatsells$800desksraisedbyelectricmotors,sayssaleswilltriplethisyear.

Standersgivevariousreasonsfortakingtotheirfeet:Itmakesthemfeelmorefocused,preventsdrowsiness,makesthemfeellikeageneraleveniftheyjustpushpaper.(FormerdefensesecretaryDonaldRumsfeldworksstandingup.SodoesnovelistPhilipRoth.)

Butunknowntothem,adebateispercolatingamongergonomicsexpertsandpublic-healthresearchersaboutwhetherallofficeworkersshouldbeencouragedtostand—tosavelives.

Doctorspointtosurprisingnewresearchshowinghigherratesofdiabetes,obesity,heartdiseaseandevenmortalityamongpeoplewhositforlongstretches.AstudyearlierthisyearintheAmericanJournalofEpidemiologyshowedthatamong123,000adultsfollowedover14years,thosewhosatmorethansixhoursadaywereatleast18percentmorelikelytodieduringthetimeperiodstudiedthanthosewhosatlessthanthreehoursaday.

“Everyrockweturnoverwhenitcomestosittingisstunning,”saidMarcHamilton,aleadingresearcheroninactivityphysiologyatthePenningtonBiomedicalResearchCenterinLouisiana.“Sittingishazardous.It'sdangerous.Weareonthecuspofamajorrevolution.”Hecallssitting“thenewsmoking”.

Notsofast,otherexpertssay.Standingtoomuchatworkwillcausemorelong-termbackinjuries.Incidencesofvaricoseveinsamongwomenwillincrease.Theheartwillhavetopumpmore.

Hedge,theCornellprofessor,isn'tafanofallthisstanding.“Makingpeoplestandalldayisdumb,”hesaid.

Thesensibleandmostcost-effectivestrategy,hesaid,istositinaneutralposture,slightlyreclined,withthekeyboardonatrayabovethelap.Thispositionpromotespositivebloodflow.Workersshouldoccasionallywalkaround,stretchandavoidprolongedperiodsatthedesk.Thekey,hesaid,ismovement,notstanding.

Vocabulary:

cushy:veryeasyandpleasant;needinglittleornoeffort（轻松愉快的；安逸的；不费劲的）

ovation:enthusiasticclappingbyanaudienceasasignoftheirapproval（热烈鼓掌；热烈欢迎）

taketoone'sfeet:在文中相当于gettoone'sfeet，意思是“站起来”。

percolate:tograduallybecomeknownorspreadthroughagrouporsociety（逐渐流传；传开）

湖北陈志明供稿