A Place Between Standing and Sitting': Office Chair Battles 'Sitting Disease

It seems like everything can be linked to an increased risk for cancer these days. For example, last year, we reported that sitting for hours on end is one of them.

For many who work at a desk, there is little choice than to sit. Sure, office furniture designers have made great strides in ergonomic chair design. On the slightly extreme side, some offices have even started installing higher desks that allow for a treadmill to fit underneath so employees could walk at a slow pace whilst typing away.

Locus by Focal Upright Furniture, plays on this concept -- minus the treadmill. The adjustable drafting style table with similarly adjustable and forward-leaning chair was launched last month at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

According to JustStand.org, studies report the average person sits about 7.7 hours a day, some hedging as high as 15 hours a day. It is here where "sitting disease" is of grave concern with citations of too much down time resulting in a higher likelihood for premature death and cardiovascular disease. Think that just adding some more time at the gym will combat this "disease?" JustStand.org says it may not. It's consecutive time spent sitting that's a danger.

That's where workstations like Locus come in. Fast Company, which recently profiled the chair-desk combo, described it as an "entirely new class of product."

Developed by Martin Keen, Locus is "designed to move with you, encourage active engagement, and allow your creative juices to flow." With pivoting legs, the chair is "kinetic yet balanced."

Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan with Fast Company wrote that sitting in the chair as unlike anything else. "You’re definitely not standing, but you do get the sense that you’re moving around, at least a little bit," she wrote.

Keen told Campbell-Dollghan, “There is a place between standing and sitting where our body wants to be.” It is this niche he hopes Locus can help fill.

Focal Upright Furniture is currently taking pre-orders for a limited edition version of Locus, which will ship in November. Currently, the Locus seat costs $500 and the desk is $950. After limited editions run out, the base price for the seat will retail for $650 and the desk for $1150.

This story has been updated to correct the name of the chair to "Locus". 

[H/T Business Insider]