Fancy a look into what the future holds?
We may not be able to share everything with you, but we can let you know how long you will live for.
A new study shows a simple test that looks at how easy, or difficult, it is for you to sit down on the floor and then get back up again may help predict how long you’re going to live.
And you’ve to get back up without using any hand or arm support…
Middle-aged and elderly people who needed to use both hands and knees to get up and down were almost seven times more likely to die within six years, compared to those who could spring up and down without support, Brazilian researchers reported in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Doctors have long used the chair test, where a person stands up from a sitting position, to determine leg strength and lower body fitness of seniors. But the new test is more difficult and can be used with a younger group, said one cardiologist Dr. Kathryn Berlacher.
So how does it work? The most important factor controlling the ease of getting down and then up is the ratio of muscle power to body weight. Other factors include flexibility, balance and motor coordination.
The researchers followed 2002 adults aged 51 to 80 for an average of 6.3 years. Sixty-eight per cent were men. At the outset, each study volunteer was asked to sit down on the floor and then get up, using the least amount of support from hands, knees and other body parts.
Can you do it?
Fingers crossed…
That’s great, now try and get up!
