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Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
The 10-second fitness test you can do at home to predict your lifespan
If you can't stand up without needing help, you're more likely to die in the next 10 years, a study suggests. Researchers in Brazil gave over 4,000 adults a flexibility test to lower themselves on to the floor from a standing position and then get back up. They were asked to do so with as little assistance as possible, such as using their hands, furniture or other people around them for balance. Participants were then scored on a scale of zero to five for both sitting down and standing up, starting with five points and then losing one for each type of support needed. The team found people who needed no help to sit down or stand up were six times less likely to die of heart disease or other cardiac issues within the next decade than those who wobbled or had more trouble. And each one-point decline in score was associated with a one-third greater chance of dying of heart disease or other natural causes like cancer. The test may be a good approximation because muscle strength and flexibility are thought to lower blood pressure and resting heart rate and reduce full-body inflammation, which can lower the risk of heart disease. Researchers said while other studies have used balance and flexibility tests to measure longevity, the new study is the first to measure 'muscle strength/power, flexibility, balance and body composition' all at once. Claudio Gil Araujo, lead study author and research director at an exercise-medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro, where the data was collected, told the Washington Post: 'What makes this test special is that it looks at all of them at once, which is why we think it can be such a strong predictor.' The researchers looked at 4,282 adults in Brazil ages 46 to 75, two thirds of whom were men. The average age was 59. After 12 years on average, 15.5 percent of participants died of natural causes. Of those, 35 percent died of cardiovascular disease, 28 percent of cancer and 11 percent of respiratory diseases like pneumonia. At the outset of the research, each participant was asked to sit down from a standing position and then get back up after. They started with five points for each test and lost one point for every level of support they needed. This could include using their knees, holding on to a chair or taking someone's hand. Participants also lost half a point every time they lost their balance or seemed unsteady. Researchers then combined each person's sitting and standing scores to get the final result, with a maximum of 10. People who scored zero to four points total had a six-fold increased chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who got a perfect 10. Half of those who scored a zero on the test to get up off the floor died during the follow-up period compared to four percent of those who got a perfect score, an 11-fold difference. Additionally, participants who scored between 4.5 and 7.5 were two to three times more likely to die in the next decade from heart disease or other natural causes. Each one-point score decrease was associated with a 31 percent increased risk of cardiovascular death and 31 percent greater chance of death in the next decade from other natural causes. The researchers also found after adjusting for factors like age, sex and body mass index (BMI), people with a history of coronary artery disease were three times more likely to die from natural causes compared to healthy participants. There were several limitations to the study, however, including all of the participants being from a private clinic in Brazil, leading to a less diverse sample size. There was also no data on smoking status, a leading cause of death from heart disease and lung cancer. To try the test for yourself, Dr Araujo suggests finding a partner to score you and steady you if you start to fall. People with joint issues should avoid trying it due to the risk of unnecessary injury. Clear space around you but ensure there is a wall, chair or other support object nearby. Remove your shoes and socks and consider putting a pad down on bare floors. Stand with your feet slightly apart and cross one foot in front of the other. Lower yourself until you are sitting on the ground and then stand back up, trying not to use support. While there was a correlation between the scores and mortality, it is important to visit a doctor to get a full picture of health, as well as risk factors for different diseases.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
This simple fitness test might predict how long you'll live
A simple test of your balance, strength and flexibility, known as the sitting-rising test, could be an early indicator of how long you'll live, according to a large-scale new study of mobility and mortality. The study, published Wednesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, looked at how well 4,282 men and women aged between 46 and 75 could lower themselves from a standing position to the floor and then stand back up again with as little assistance as possible from their hands, knees, furniture or human helpers. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The test assesses 'all the aspects of fitness that are not aerobic,' said Claudio Gil Araújo, the study's lead author and research director at an exercise-medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro, where the data were collected. Those aspects include muscular health, balance, flexibility and body composition, he said, each of which is important for longevity and health. In the study, middle-aged and older people who needed no support to sit or stand were about six times less likely to die of heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions during the next decade or so than people who wobbled and had great difficulty completing the task. They also were less likely to die of other natural causes, including cancer. There are many tests of balance or strength or flexibility, Araújo said. 'But what makes this test special is that it looks at all of them at once, which is why we think it can be such a strong predictor' of longevity, he said. - - - Want to try the sitting-rising test yourself? First find a partner. 'Don't do this test on your own,' Araújo said. Your partner will watch you, score your test and, most important, steady you if you start to topple. (If you have disabilities or serious joint problems, such as hip, spine or knee arthritis, you probably shouldn't do the test, Araújo said, since it could cause unnecessary pain or injury.) Next: -Clear a level space so you have room to maneuver but also, if needed, still have a wall, chair or other support nearby. -If the floor is bare, put down a pad in case you land with a thump while sitting. -Remove your shoes and socks. -Stand with your feet slightly apart, then cross one foot in front of the other. Hold your arms however you'd like. -Lower yourself until you're seated on the ground. Try not to wobble or use any support to get yourself settled, such as a hand, forearm or any part of your legs. -From this seated position, stand back up, trying to remain steady and not rely on any support, including using your hands. To score your test, start with 10 points. Your partner then subtracts one point every time you use a hand or any other support to help you lower down or rise up and half a point every time you noticeably wobble. - - - In the new study, men and women who scored between 0 and 4 were far more likely to die of cardiovascular problems and other natural causes during about a 12-year-long follow-up period than those scoring a perfect 10. (The scientists screened out deaths from suicides or accidents, such as car crashes, that wouldn't be considered natural causes.) Men and women scoring between 4.5 and 7.5 had about a threefold heightened risk of dying during the follow-up period, compared to those who scored a 10. A relatively low score, below about a 7.5 for healthy middle-aged and older people, 'should be a cause for some concern,' Araújo said. He's 69 and recently scored an 8.5, he said. (No one in the study group was older than 75, so it's not clear if the findings apply to anyone 76 or older.) These new results update a 2014 study from Araújo's group that likewise showed an association between how people scored and their longevity. A score between 8 and 10 'indicated a particularly low risk of death' in subsequent years, Araújo and his co-authors wrote. That study involved about 2,000 men and women and a follow-up period of about six years. The new study doubled both the participants and follow-up time, making the updated results 'that much stronger,' Araújo said. - - - The sitting-rising test is not a foolproof indicator of our health or longevity, though. It incorporates so many aspects of fitness, for one thing, it's hard to know which are weakest if our scores are low, said Avril Mansfield, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Toronto, who studies mobility and balance. She wasn't involved with the new study. Is the problem mostly our flexibility, strength, range of motion, balance or some combination of several of those? 'Working with a professional like a physiotherapist or a clinical exercise specialist could help you identify the specific physical limitations' that are impairing your score, she said, 'and design an exercise program to address those limitations.' This test also could be daunting or inappropriate for many people, said Lora Giangregorio, a professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada who studies falls and bone health and wasn't involved with the study. 'It requires people to get off of the floor in a prescribed way that requires very good joint mobility.' If you have joint pain or other disabilities or are older and feel infirm, other tests of mobility are likely to be safer and more reliable, she said. Try, for instance, the 30-second chair stand test, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess physical performance in older people, she said. Simply count how many times you can rise from and sit back onto a chair seat in 30 seconds, without using your hands. Men younger than 60 should manage, at minimum, 15 and women that age at least 13. Average scores decline by one or two per decade after that. The sitting-rising test and the new study also don't tell us why the test predicts mortality, although Araújo believes low scores indicate underlying disease and frailty. People who are inflexible also often have stiff arteries, he said, contributing to heart disease, while people with poor balance could be predisposed to serious falls, which can precipitate physical decline and death. Perhaps most important, though, a low score is a portent, but not a promise, he said. 'People ask me all the time, 'If my score is low, does that mean I'll be dead in five years?' I tell them, 'Of course not,'' Araújo said. But it can be a wake-up call, he added. 'It's telling you, maybe you need to make some changes.' 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Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
How You Sit and Rise Predicts Longevity
You might want to sit down for this — then stand up as smoothly as you can. The ease with which a person can sit on the floor and rise to their feet, using as little support as possible, may help predict how long they will live. Adults who aced the so-called sitting-rising test were far less likely to die of natural or cardiovascular causes over about 12 years of follow-up than those who scored the lowest, according to a study published online on June 18 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology . The study added to the body of evidence showing that various measures of physical function beyond aerobic fitness, including flexibility, the ability to stand on one leg, and grip strength, can predict longevity. The sitting-rising test measures several key components of non-aerobic fitness at once, including muscle strength or power, flexibility, balance, and body composition, without the use of any equipment, according to the researchers. The study by Claudio Gil S. Araújo, MD, PhD, dean of research and education at Clinimex, an exercise medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and colleagues expands on a 2012 study that found scores on the test were associated with all-cause mortality. 10 Points Possible To get a perfect score on the sitting-rising test, you must complete the tasks without using your hands, forearms, knees, or the side of your legs for support, and you must remain steady. If you start to lose your balance or, say, need to kneel or put a hand down to support yourself, you start to lose points from a perfect 10 (5 points possible for sitting and 5 for standing). If you cannot complete the tasks without external help such as a table, wall, or another person, you score a 0. (This video illustrates the test and scoring.) The investigators analyzed data of 4282 individuals (age, 46-75 years; 68% men) who completed the sitting-rising test as part of a voluntary fitness evaluation between 1998 and 2023. None had physical or clinical limitations that restricted their participation in the fitness tests. During a median follow-up of 12 years, 665 participants died of natural causes (15.5%). Among those who scored a 10 on the sitting-rising test, 3.7% died. Of those who scored an 8 on the test, 11.1% died. Among participants with the lowest scores (0-4) on the sitting-rising test, 42.1% died. In an analysis that adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and clinical variables, the researchers found people who scored the lowest were 3.8 times more likely to die of natural causes and six times more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than those with the highest score. Key questions remain, the authors acknowledged: What 'exercise prescription' would best improve or maintain sitting-rising test scores? Would improving the scores prolong survival? And how do predictions based on this non-aerobic fitness measure compare with those based on aerobic fitness tests? More Than Swimming Clinicians and researchers are increasingly recognizing the role that non-aerobic fitness plays in health, said Daniel Forman, MD, with the University of Pittsburgh and the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, both in Pittsburgh. A recent statement on the core components of cardiac rehabilitation programs, which Forman co-authored, highlights the importance of strength training and physical activity, in addition to aerobic exercise, which had historically been the focus. 'It's not enough to think that 'I have to go swimming several times a week,'' Forman said. 'We are talking now about adding in strength training at least twice a week. And it is just as essential if not more so to prevent decline.' Rising from a seated position is a dynamic exercise that incorporates strength and balance, and difficulty performing this action can reveal impairment, Forman said. While many clinics in the US would not necessarily be set up to conduct the sitting-rising test, it is inexpensive and yields important information, Forman said. The underlying principle may be more important than the exact technique used to test and score physical abilities, he said.
