Focal Locus Workstation Seeks To Prevent 'Sitting Disease'

This Desk Could Save Your Life

Your desk is killing you. Sound dramatic? "Sitting Disease" is a real thing, and between commuting, sitting all day at work and then sitting at home, there are some very tangible, adverse effects on a person’s health. Enter the Locus workstation from Focal.

Just how bad is the problem? A study in 2008 by Vanderbilt University found that 55 percent of the average American’s waking time -- or 7.7 hours per day -- is spent in sedentary behaviors such as sitting. And people that sit more than 11 hours per day are 40 percent more likely to die from any cause, according to a recent study by Archives of Internal Medicine. Sitting has also been shown to lead to a higher chance of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Entrepreneur Martin Keen, who founded KEEN Footwear, is attempting to thwart Sitting Disease with the Locus workstation from Focal, a new desk designed around avoiding the unhealthy stagnancy of sitting at a desk. The desk enables a posture somewhere between sitting and standing, one that is "designed to move with you, encourage active engagement, and allow your creative juices to flow," according to the Focal website. A pivoting leg adjusts to support your natural balancing point, a means to keep your body and brain engaged while stimulating blood and oxygen flow.

Although the Locus upright seat harbors a strange aesthetic, it could help usher in more designs that have the dangers of constant sitting ingrained into their creation. The Locus seat is available in a wide range of colors and materials, and retails for $500 in its current limited edtion form. After that initial run, the seat will retail for $650 with the entire desk retailing for $1,150.

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