Although many people would say no, knowing how much life is left, or at least an approximation, is a question that many would like to know. This concern interested a group of research scientists, who kept awake to find an answer to this great enigma.
According to the most recent study published by the Journal of the British Medical Association, BMJrenowned academic environment, It was announced that with a very simple exercise on one of the two feet, the deduction of the age of people can be estimated.
That said, the scientists assured in the British magazine that it is a basic exercise. Balance must be maintained for a total of 10 seconds on one bare foot, exerting pressure or force on the calf that supports the body, having the arms raised to the sides and with the eyes focused straight ahead.
“Older people who fall are at very high risk for major fractures and other related complications. This may play a role in the increased risk of mortality”, said the doctor and director of the investigation, Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo.
In the face of this, the doctor maintained that checking balance on one foot, even for those few seconds, can be a valuable way of determining someone’s risk of falling. A 2019 report reinforced that, finding that the number of fall deaths among people 75 and older was on the rise in the United States.
“Remember that we regularly need to stay in a one-legged posture, get out of a car, go up or down a step or a ladder, etc,” Araújo said.
Dr. Araújo and his colleagues previously investigated the relationship between movement capacity and longevity. There they found a study published in 2016, which noted that it found that the ability of people to sit on the floor and then stand up, without using hands or knees for support, might predict their risk of death in the next six years.
How does balance predict longevity?
To see if such a simple balance test might reveal information regarding a person’s risk of death from any natural cause over the next decade, Araújo and his team reexamined data from the 1994 CLINIMEX exercise cohort study, which evaluated the associations between physical fitness, cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of developing poor health and dying.
However, for a new report, this group of researchers focused on a sample of 1,702 participants between the ages of 51 and 75 (average age 61). For the first phase of the analysis, the scientists focused on collecting data from people who might walk consistently.
In this first check, participants were asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without holding on to anything for support. There were participants who were allowed three attempts, they were asked to stand on their toes, while keeping their arms at their sides and looking straight ahead.
As an answer to this quiz, one in five people mightn’t keep their balance for 10 seconds.
Factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), history of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol were then taken into account. There, the researchers found that the 10-year risk of death was 1.84 times higher in participants who failed the balance test.
The good news, Araújo pointed out, is that “it is never too late to improve balance through specific training. A couple of minutes a day, at home or in a gym, might go a long way,” he concluded.
