The Victorian Department of Health, through its Better Health Channel, uses precisely these words, in fact. It reports that “physical inactivity contributes to over three million preventable deaths worldwide each year”.

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It also says it causes cancer – breast and colon, specifically – as well as diabetes and certain forms of heart disease. Furthermore, it goes on to declare that “physical inactivity is the second-highest cause of cancer in Australia”. The first is smoking.

Sitting at a desk for work is now so routine and conventional in the post-industrial world that most of us don’t even question it. What we have started to question is whether we should be doing it for long stretches, and the answer according to the experts is a resounding no.

The University of Queensland recently said that “current guidelines strongly point towards the value of varying postures, positions and alternating between sitting and standing throughout the day”.

As you told me in your email, a standing desk is a good way to make this variation easier. But so is getting up and going for walks at regular intervals. And, in a more general sense, being active outside work is just as important as avoiding too much sedentary work.

Again, these aren’t my ideas – this is a constant refrain in so much of the advice from researchers who study the problem of sedentary lifestyles.

It’s not a perfect solution. Although standing for long periods isn’t as bad for your health as sitting for long periods, without breaks it can cause, for example, musculoskeletal problems. But, as you’ve hinted in your email, you already know it’s not some kind of panacea.

For that reason, it’s clear that your decision to try a standing desk wasn’t an attempt to show off. Or to show up your colleagues, most of whom were probably just surprised to see someone trying something different.

It does sound, however, like one of them is being a touch narrow-minded, and possibly curmudgeonly. Maybe they themselves need to get up occasionally – to stretch their muscles, but also the very tight limits of their patience.