By Laurel White
“Feeling better. Fewer medical problems. Less depressed.”
Written in bold, black marker on a jumbo-sized piece of drawing paper are the reasons people — older folks, including one in her late 90s — are assembled for a workshop called “Stand Up and Move More.”
The workshop, which has been held in 33 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties since its creation about eight years ago, is the result of years of research by Kelli Koltyn, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Kinesiology.
“I’m so excited, because it’s one of those things where you can actually see that it’s having a positive impact,” Koltyn says.
The past decade has been replete with scientific findings about the harms of sitting for too long, too often — from increased blood pressure to a higher likelihood of getting heart disease.
“It’s actually been a shift in the focus of our research,” Koltyn says. “We used to always try to increase exercise, but now you’re seeing more and more interventions focused on reducing sitting.”
Demand for the program has been high, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Koltyn says.
“If you value your health, then you should take this class,” workshop attendee Chris Wagner said in a video produced by the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging, which is administering and promoting the program statewide. “Because it will help you in a way that is very simple and nonthreatening.”
Wagner said the program helped lift her out of a “spiral” of depression.
“One of the things about depression is that it causes you to want to curl up into a ball and not move,” she said. “And the problem with curling up into a ball and not moving is, eventually, you become more depressed and you move less.”
According to a study by Koltyn and her colleagues published in 2019, “Stand Up and Move More” workshop participants reduced their sedentary time by an average of 68 minutes a day and showed improved balance and mobility.
“Even just a little bit of activity can have huge benefits,” Koltyn says.
For Wagner, those little changes included making a habit of standing up between each song she plays on the piano (“I don’t take a bow,” she jokes) and avoiding sitting down when she talks on the phone.
Koltyn is currently working with Susan Andreae, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, on a new program aimed at helping people maintain a longterm commitment to their new standing habit.
“Adherence is a big factor in all health promotion programs,” Koltyn says. “The excitement wears off.”
Koltyn and Andreae will focus on outreach to rural populations in particular, including people who are socially isolated or homebound.
Since the workshops began, Koltyn has been in touch with health promotion educators across Wisconsin. She says she has enjoyed hearing from and building partnerships with them.
“They have so much to offer, and they work so hard,” she says. “This program is us, here at the University, working with the community to give them what they need.”
Soon, thanks to a grant from Bader Philanthropies, “Stand Up and Move More” will be available across the country. Koltyn says the expansion is expected to happen by next year.