Sitting at a desk all day is harmful to your health, and regular exercise doesn't counteract the damage you're doing by sitting all day.

This is according to multiple studies, a number of which have been conducted by Dr. James Levine at the Mayo Clinic in the United States.

"Any extended sitting – such as behind a desk at work or behind the wheel – can be harmful. What's more, spending a few hours a week at the gym or otherwise engaged in moderate or vigorous activity doesn't seem to significantly offset the risk," says Dr Levine.

The dangers are already well documented: research has linked prolonged sitting with weight gain, heart disease, and an increased risk of death by almost 50 per cent, as Dr Levine writes.

But sitting isn't just bad for your long term health. For some, sitting for long periods of time also exacerbates problems like chronic back pain.

South Australian Dr Peter Moore started standing at his desk 20 years ago – well before research into the benefit of the practice came out.

"I'm a back sufferer, so by the avoidance of prolonged sitting, i'm able to protect my back and keep the pain levels down," he says.

The GP says people's muscles become floppy when they're seated, which means the back is not terribly well supported.

"When I stand my core muscles are working to hold my back in position, so a standing position is more appropriate."

He says standing at work can be hard on the feet some days, but the benefits outweigh any negatives.

Dr Moore built his own standing desk to work at, which was great until he moved to a different medical practice where he would change consulting rooms once or twice a day – using a cardboard box to transform his desk into a standing desk.

With help from his son, Dr Moore developed a portable standing desk which would be perfect for his practice, but didn't realise how popular his idea would be.

"Not everyone is looking for that portability but I was, because I just want to be able to pop the desk in the boot or even carry it from place to place, and it needed to be light enough but sturdy enough to do the jobs."

Called the Zestdesk, Dr Moore's invention is a portable miniature desk which is assembled on top of an ordinary desk.

While there are plenty of different standing desks on the market – including the treadmill desk – Dr Moore says his invention is the first portable one on the market.

"The portability is the point of difference with our product, and it just frees anyone who does want to stand, they can do that at home, or fold it up and bring it into work, it can be used on the back of a ute," says Dr Moore.

Still with more than a week to go, their Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than four times their initial goal of $10,000.

"We are excited because it's wonderful that people want to commit to buy something they haven't touched and is going to take six months to deliver," says Dr Moore.

"I'm very pleased we've got the numbers we've got so far."