The ‘flamingo test’ that will tell you if your life’s in the balance
ADULTS who cannot balance on one leg for ten seconds are almost twice as likely to die within a decade, a study shows.
Researchers say GPs could use the simple ‘flamingo test’ during health checks to spot patients with a shorter life expectancy.
They asked 1,702 people aged 1 to 7 to stand on one leg for ten seconds, with the front of their free leg against the back of the leg touching the ground.
They had to keep their arms by their sides and fix their gaze straight ahead, with each given three attempts on either foot.
Around one in five failed, with the failure rate almost doubling every five years from age 1.
After accounting for age, sex and underlying conditions, an inability to stand on one leg for ten seconds was linked with an 84 per cent higher risk of dying within a decade.
Poor balance increases elderly people’s risk of falls but stability is not currently routinely assessed as part of health checks and there is little evidence linking it to other clinical outcomes.
But the team of global researchers, including experts from Bristol Medical School, say that their study shows the benefit of adding the test.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, they said: ‘The test has been remarkably safe, well-received by the participants and, importantly, simple to incorporate in our routine practice.’
Some 20. per cent of people failed the test, ranging from per cent among 1 to -yearolds to 4 per cent among 71 to
7 -year-olds. In general those who failed had poorer health.
All participants were white and most were men. Information on potentially influential factors such as recent falls and physical activity levels was not available.