According to exercise researchers who have been watching thousands of middle -aged and older people for more than a decade, a simple, though not necessarily easy, test can help to predict how many years a person has left.
Sitting up to the rising test requires enough balance, muscle strength and flexibility to sit on the floor without using hands, hands or knees, and then re -standing up. Movement is a way to determine non -aerobic fitness, and it reveals possible problems that otherwise may be missed, according to a report on Wednesday on Wednesday by the European Journal of Prevenne Cardiology.
At the Rio de Janeiro Exercise Medical Clinic, the team recruited 4,282 adults, mainly men from 46 to 75 years. After evaluating the health of the participants, the investigators provided them with the test.
Using a zero up to five -point system, participants received a great result if they could move from parking vertically to sitting on the floor without touching the way down.
Each part of the body, say, by hand, elbow or knee joint, which was used to direct or help with balance, led to one point subtraction from a common point. People also lost half a point for being wavy. On the way back, the points were deprived if the limbs touched something.
Twelve years later, the researchers followed the participants. Until then, 665 deaths died for “natural reasons,” the investigators found.
The vast majority of perfect goals were still alive compared to just over 9 out of 10 of those who lost two points, and, dramatically, slightly less than half of those with a score of 0 to 4.
Among the participants who were initially diagnosed with heart disease, those with low test were more likely to die with a 12 -year mark.
Aerobic preparation is important, but muscle strength, healthy body mass index or BMI, balance and flexibility is also vital to healthy aging, said Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo, Director of Research and Education of the Clinic and the main author of the study. People can improve their deficit and better evaluate the test.
Although the study does not directly associate the perfect score with longevity, “quite reasonable to expect,” said Araújo.
New conclusions are part of the growing area of longevity. Other recent studies include a balance test: people who could not stand for 10 seconds on one leg in 10 seconds were almost twice as large in the next 10 years than those who could have balance.
Keith Diaz, a professor of behavior of the University of Columbia Medical Center, said a new test could be the beginning of a conversation when doctors can make patients think about what they need for healthy aging.
If someone is poorly evaluated, “you may be able to make them start working according to their flexibility and balance,” the diaz said. “If the patient tries to get off the floor, it can be a red flag for their overall health.”
Joseph Herrera, Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Activities of Sinai Hill Health System, warned that someone who is unable to successfully stand up and sit without help is ways to improve.
Weight training, equilibrium training and improving flexibility can help.
Other popular tests, according to Herrera, include a six -minute walk where the essence is to see how much a person can take in six minutes, and a sitting stand test where the patient is asked to sit in a chair, then get out of the chair and sit again five times in 30 seconds.
“We should look at the results of these tests as pieces of puzzle,” he said.
This article was originally published in nbcnews.com