Latest news with #sittingrisingtest
The Independent
12 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
The simple test that could predict how long you will live
A new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology explored whether a simple sitting-rising test could predict premature deaths. Researchers tested 4,282 adults aged 46-75 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1998 to 2023, to evaluate non-aerobic physical fitness, including muscle strength, flexibility, and balance. The test required participants to sit and rise from the floor without using support from hands, elbows, or knees, with points deducted for any assistance or loss of balance. The study concluded that non-aerobic physical fitness, as assessed by this test, was a significant predictor of natural and cardiovascular mortality. After about 12 years, participants with a perfect 10 score had a 3.7 per cent death rate, while those scoring 0-4 points showed a dramatically higher death rate of 42.1 per cent.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Say This 10-Second Test May Predict How Long You'll Live
Our society is obsessed with longevity. Our cultural focus on working out, eating whole foods, and managing stress isn't just about improving our health now, it's about increasing lifespan and improving quality of life for years to come. And while some people turn to psychics or mediums to ask, 'When will I die?' a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology suggests there may be a simple, science-backed test to gain insight—one you can try at home. The sitting-rising test is simple. To complete it, study participants sat on a non-slippery flat surface barefoot with clothes that didn't restrict their movements. A researcher told the participants, "Without worrying about the speed of movement, try to sit and then rise from the floor, using the minimum support that you believe is needed." Basically, people were expected to go from standing to sitting down with their legs crossed, and back up again, while using as little support as possible. For the study, researchers at the Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro enlisted 4,282 adults between the ages of 46 and 75. After evaluating participants' health markers, the researchers had them perform the sitting-rising test. Each person's performance was scored from zero to five for sitting and zero to five for rising (totaling up to 10), based on how easily and independently they could complete the participants could cross their legs while sitting, they couldn't use the sides of their feet, hands, forearms, knees, or the side of their leg for support as they lowered to the ground or stood up. Each time they did, one point was subtracted from their score. Participants also lost half a point for being wobbly. If the individual completely failed at sitting or rising from the floor without external help, they were given a 0. After 12 years, researchers followed up with participants and found that 665 had died. Death rates rose sharply among those with lower sitting-rising test (SRT) scores: just 3.7 percent of people who scored a perfect 10 died, compared to 42.1 percent of those who scored between 0 and 4. They also discovered that despite other health factors, low scorers had a 3.8 times higher risk of death from natural causes and were also six times more likely to die from heart-related issues. While the study doesn't directly prove that a perfect score guarantees longevity, the authors say that health professionals can use the SRT to tailor exercise plans and gain important insights into survival prospects for middle-aged and older adults, whether healthy or with medical conditions. Scientists Say This 10-Second Test May Predict How Long You'll Live first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 20, 2025
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.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
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.
