Forget how many steps you get a day, the stand test may be what really matters as we get older. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have come up with a simple, equipment-free way to determine biological age. And it all comes down to how long you can balance on one leg.
It turns out, the amount of time you can do that is an important indicator of nerve, bone and muscle strength. And balancing may get more difficult as we get older, as researchers point out that muscle mass decreases as much as 8% per decade after the age of 30, and that rate increases from age 60 on.
- The study involved 40 healthy participants over age 50, half over 65, half younger, who did walking and balance tests and exercises to test grip and knee strength.
- The balance tests lasted 30 seconds each and had people do different stances - two feet on the ground with eyes open, two feet on the ground with eyes closed, standing on one leg using their nondominant leg with eyes open and on their dominant leg with eyes open.
- The results show that standing on one leg, the nondominant leg, had the highest rate of decline with age.
- The amount of time someone could stand on their nondominant leg decreased by 2.2 seconds per decade and for the dominant leg, it decreased by 1.7 seconds per decade.
“Balance is an important measure, because in addition to muscle strength, it requires input from vision, the vestibular system and the somatosensory systems,” explains lead study author Dr. Kenton Kaufman. “If you have poor balance, you’re at risk of falling, whether or not you’re moving. Falls are a severe health risk with serious consequences.” He notes that people can train themselves to improve their balance and says, “If you can stand on one leg for 30 seconds, you are doing well.”
Source: NY Post