A simple balance test may be helpful in including regular physical exams for middle-aged and older people, the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Tuesday, suggested. While aging leads to a decrease in fitness, muscle strength and flexibility, balance tends to be maintained fairly well up to the age of 50, when it begins to decline relatively quickly, the study noted. Previous research has linked inability to stand on one leg with a higher risk of falls and cognitive impairment. The study involved 1,702 people aged 51 to 75 living in Brazil, who were asked to balance without support on one leg during an initial check-up. The researchers told participants to place the front of their free foot behind the upright foot, keeping their hands on their sides and their eyes glued straight forward. Up to three attempts with both feet were allowed. The ability to balance on one leg is important for the elderly for a variety of reasons and also reflects broader levels of fitness and health, said study author Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo at Exercise Medicine Clinic – CLINIMEX – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. . “We regularly need … a one-legged attitude, to get out of a car, to go up or down a step or a ladder, and so on. “Not having this ability or being afraid to do it is probably related to a loss of autonomy and, consequently, less exercise and the snowball starts,” he explained.
BAD BALANCE AND LABOR
The study participants had an average age of 61 years and two thirds of them were men. About one in five people failed to balance on one leg for 10 seconds at initial control. The researchers followed participants after the initial screening for a period of seven years, during which 123 – 7 percent – of those studied died. The death rate among those who failed the test (17.5%) was significantly higher than the deaths among those who managed to balance for 10 seconds (4.5%). The study found that those who could not complete the balance test had an 84 percent higher risk of dying from any cause and this relationship persisted even when other factors – including age, gender, BMI and pre-existing conditions or risks for health, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes – were taken into account. However, the researchers were unable to include other variables in their analysis, such as a recent history of falls, a pattern of physical activity, exercise or exercise, diet, smoking and medication use that may affect balance. The research was observational and does not reveal cause and effect. The study did not look at possible biological mechanisms that could explain the link between poor balance and longevity. Dr. Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said the research was interesting but not definitive. “As the posture of one leg requires good balance, which is associated with brain function, good muscle strength and good blood flow, it probably incorporates muscular, vascular and cerebral systems, so it is a global test of future mortality risk. and raw, “Sattar said. who did not participate in the study. “If one can not do the 10 seconds and is worried, one should consider the risks to one’s health,” he said. “They could try to make positive lifestyle changes, such as walking more, eating less, if they realized they could do better – most underestimate the importance of lifestyle for health,” he said. “But they could also consult their doctor if, for example, the risk factors for cardiovascular disease or other chronic conditions such as diabetes have not been measured.”
IMPROVING BALANCE
Overall, those who failed the test had poorer health and included a higher proportion of people who were obese and / or had heart disease, high blood pressure and unhealthy blood fat profiles, according to the study. Type 2 diabetes was also more common among those who failed the test. The study was conducted between 2009 and 2020 and was part of a wider research project launched in 1994. The inability to complete the balance test increased with age, almost doubling at intervals of five years followed by the age range from 51 to 55 and beyond. More than half (about 54 percent) of study participants aged 71 to 75 could not complete the test, compared with 5 percent in the lower age group who could not. There were no clear trends in deaths, or differences in causes of death, between those who could complete the test and those who could not. Araujo said the balance could be substantially improved with special training and that was something he worked on with patients who participated in an exercise-supervised exercise program. However, he said he did not yet have the data to assess whether the improvement in balance had affected longevity. If you want to test your ability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds, Araújo advised that it is best to stand near a wall or table or other person for support.
