Ten seconds of standing on one leg can determine how long you have to live

According to a new study, you are twice as likely to die in the next decade if you fail to keep your balance on one leg for 10 seconds. What can your balance say about your health?

The study mentioned above reveals that those who can keep their balance in one leg for more than ten seconds have a very good chance of living longer.

Ten seconds of standing on one leg can determine how long you have to live. Balance is a barometer in determining a person's health

This relevant study, conducted by Brazilians and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Tuesday, showed that a person's balance can be maintained until the sixth decade of life, which means that it is a broader indicator of life expectancy at all ages. than physical condition, flexibility or muscle strength.

The author of the paper, Dr. Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, sports and exercise physician at the Clinimex Physical Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, said that a poor balance is related to the fragility of older adults, and physical condition is an indicator, main state of health.

Moreover, the Brazilian doctor believes that during the routine checks it would be good to perform a balance test and recommends that people try this 15-second test on their own during the morning routine, when brushing their teeth at home, for use it as a barometer of their well-being.

Only people who could walk constantly were included in their analysis. Then, all participants were asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without holding anything for support. One in five failed the test.

The final research considered age, sex, BMI, history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. The final results determined that the risk of death within 10 years was 1.84 times higher in participants who failed the balance test than those who passed it.

"If you are younger than 70 years, you are expected (as the majority of those at that age) to successfully complete the 10 seconds," Araújo told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. "For those older than 70 years of age, if you complete it, you are in better static balance status than your age-peers. ...The advantages of the 10s OLS test include the fact that it is simple and it provides rapid, safe and objective feedback for the patient and health care providers regarding static balance."

In conjunction with suggesting regular doctor visits feature a balance test, Araújo recommended that people try a 15-second balance test of their own during their morning routine when they're brushing their teeth at home, to use as a barometer for their well-being.

Researchers in the study zeroed in on 1,702 participants from ages 51 to 75 for the study, with the average age set at 61. Their first checkup – study participants were tracked starting in 2008 – collected data on their weight, waist size and measures of body fat. Only individuals who could walk steadily were included in their analysis. Then, the participants were all asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without holding onto anything for support. One in 5 failed the test. Each participant got three tries to put the back of their other foot on the weight-bearing leg, which could be barefoot or with a proper tennis shoe on.

The inability of participants to pass the balance test increased with age, while those with weight problems or diabetes were more likely to fail. The study's finalized research factored in age, sex, BMI, history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. The final results determined that the risk of death within a 10-year span was 1.84-fold higher in participants who failed the balance test versus those who passed it.

The test has its limits, Araújo noted: "This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish cause. As participants were all white Brazilians, the findings might not be more widely applicable to other ethnicities and nations, caution the researchers."