Acing a simple one-leg test could cut your risk of dying in half: study

Seniors, listen up. A new study suggests that how well you perform on a simple balance test could offer clues about how well you’re aging — and even your chances of making it through the next seven years.Researchers found that older adults who performed best on the free, at-home assessment were about half as likely to die during the follow-up period as those with the lowest scores.The study involved more than 13,000 community-dwelling adults ages 65 and older in Taiwan, about 62.5% of whom were women.The participants took a series of standardized tests designed to assess four areas of physical fitness: balance and agility, muscle strength, heart and lung endurance and flexibility.The researchers then followed the participants for an average of seven years.During that time, 1,631 people — about 12% of the group — died.When researchers compared the participants’ scores, they found that the fittest participants were about half as likely to die during the follow-up period as those who performed worst, even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, body weight and preexisting conditions.

But not all of the tests were equally telling.The strongest predictor was the so-called “8-foot up-and-go,” which measured balance and agility.

Participants started seated, stood up, walked eight feet around a cone, returned to the chair and sat back down.Those who scored highest had a 59% lower mortality risk than those who scored lowest.Another balance-and-agility test was even simpler: They had participants stand on one leg with their eyes open for up to 30 seconds.The top scorers had about half the mortality risk of those at the bottom.The researchers also tested lower-body strength by counting how many times participants could stand up from a chair and sit back down in 30 seconds, with their arms crossed over their chests.Those who managed the most chair stands had a 45% lower mortality risk than those who were able to do the fewest.Next came heart and lung endura...