YOUR LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE! One-legged ‘flamingo’ measures mortality
CAN you stand on one leg for ten seconds? If not, a new study suggests you’re at risk of dying within a decade! Researchers in Brazil tracked over 1,700 men and women, aged between 51 and 75, for seven years.
The participants were asked to do the flamingo pose — placing the front of one foot on the back of the opposite lower leg, while keeping their arms at their sides and looking straight ahead.
During the study,
whopping 84 percent of them had failed the balance test! In general, those participants had poorer health. Many were obese, or had heart disease or high blood pressure.
But the researchers say the simple balance test should become part of routine health checks for older adults.
“This test provides rapid feedback regarding mortality risk in middle-aged and older men and women,” says Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo.