There’s a simple 10-second test to see ‘how long you’ll live for'
Madison Burgess
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
If you had the opportunity to know exactly when you're going to die, would you do it?
While some people say they'd find comfort in knowing, allowing them to prepare and make any amends they need to, others believe it would simply make them live their life in fear.
Well, whatever your stance is on the age-old question, scientists seem to have worked out a way to give you somewhat of a rough idea.
Of course, we know that it's completely impossible to predict the exact date you'll pop your clogs, whether you'd want to be in the know or not.
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But, according to one study, there is a test you can take to give you a hint, and it will only take up 10 seconds of your time.
Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2022, the research looked into one of the leading causes of unintentional injury-related deaths in the world and how likely you are to become a victim of them.
We're talking about falls - something that when you're younger can simply be an inconvenience, but pose serious health risks when you get a bit older.
In the study, scientists wrote: "Balance quickly diminishes after the mid-50s increasing the risk for falls and other adverse health outcomes.
"Our aim was to assess whether the ability to complete a 10- s one-legged stance (10-second OLS) is associated with all-cause mortality."
Yep - the scientific test required no equipment or screening, it simply involved people balancing on one leg for 10 seconds to assess balance and muscle strength.
They simply wanted to find out whether someone's ability to balance could help add 'relevant prognostic information beyond ordinary demographic, anthropometric and clinical data'.
Dr Claudio Gil Araújo, from CLINIMEX, who led the study, concluded that the inability to complete the full 10 seconds is in fact related to a shorter life expectancy.
He said: "Our study indicates that the inability to complete a 10-second one-legged stance (OLS) in middle-aged and older participants is related to a higher risk of all-cause mortality and, consequently, to a shorter life expectancy.
"Ageing is associated with a progressive decline in physical fitness and reductions or impairments in components of aerobic and non-aerobic fitness, including muscle strength, power, flexibility, balance and body composition."
Essentially, if you can't balance on one leg for 10 seconds, you might face more difficulties as you get older.
Dr Araújo added: "It is also well-established that the combination of sarcopenic obesity and loss of flexibility and balance are detrimental for overall health, placing older adults with frailty more prone to falls and other serious adverse medical [consequences].
"Indeed, falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-based deaths worldwide.
"Unlike aerobic fitness, muscle strength and flexibility, balance tends to be reasonably preserved until the sixth decade of life, when comparatively, it starts to diminish quickly.
"Nevertheless, balance assessment is not routinely incorporated in the clinical examination of middle-aged and older individuals."
However, while this does indicate how vulnerable you could be to falls later in life, it's important to note that this doesn't definitely mean you're going to die any sooner.
Falls are of course only one particular cause of death, and it's not even the most common, so don't panic too much if your balancing skills aren't quite up to scratch.