This simple test may be a predictor of longevity. Researchers at the Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro say that a simple 10-second balancing test could be predictor of longevity.

To take the test, stand on one foot (right or left). Place the front of your free food around the back of
the foot that’s on the floor. Hold you arms to the sides. Look straight ahead.
Can you hold the position for 10 seconds? (You get three tries.)
The researchers, led by Dr. Claudio Araujo, analyzed data on 1,700 Brazilians, ages 51 to 75, collected
between 2009 and 2020. The study was limited to people with a stable gait. After adjusting for
differences in age, sex and underlying health, they found that those who failed the test had an 84%
higher risk of death from any cause in the subsequent decade.

Highlights of the findings:

• About in in five failed the test

• Failure increased with age, ranging from a 5% failure rate among those who were 51-55, all the

  way up to a 54% failure rate in the 71-75 age group

• On an average 7-year follow-up, 7% of the participants had died, with a heavier concentration

  among those who had failed the test

It makes sense that the failure rate would go up with age, as would the number of later deaths. But it’s intriguing that there should be a difference, within a given age range, in the risk of death in relation to the pass/fail on the test. Maybe the test should become a routine part of health check-ups.

Try the test yourself and see!