Is having more balance the secret to living longer? As per the latest research, middle-aged adults who are unable to stand with one leg for over 10 seconds are twice as likely to pass away within ten years. According to Brazilian researchers, an easy and secure balance test should be included in an older adult’s normal physical examination.
Balance remains stable until someone hits 50 years
Contrary to muscle strength, aerobic fitness, and flexibility, balance usually remains reasonably stable until a person approaches their fifties, at which point it rapidly begins to deteriorate. But middle-aged people aren’t typically tested for balance as part of routine health checkups, partly because there isn’t a standard test and there isn’t much concrete evidence connecting it to illnesses or injuries besides falling, according to the researchers.
Researchers from Clinimex Medicina do Exercicio conducted research to determine if a balance test could be a trustworthy predictor of a person’s risk of dying from any cause during the next ten years and whether it ought to be included in regular health examinations.
More than 1,700 respondents in the new study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, were between the ages of 51 and 75 (average age 61) at the time of their initial checkup between February 2009 and December 2020. Approximately 68% of them were guys.
One in three elderly people failed the balance test
Researchers measured each subject’s skinfold thickness, weight, and waist size multiple times. They also obtained information about their medical background. Only subjects with steady gaits took part in the study.
Participants were required to stand unsupported for 10 seconds on one leg as part of the assessment. They were instructed to keep their hands by their shoulders and their heads straight ahead while placing the front of the free leg on the rear of the opposing lower leg. Each participant was given a maximum of three attempts on either foot by the researchers. The ten-second balance test gives patients and medical practitioners quick, unbiased feedback on static balance.
