It is often said that being able to balance confidently on one leg is a good test of your health.
Research has shown that those who cannot do this for more than ten seconds are at a vastly increased risk of dying within ten years.
But now NHS scientists believe they have discovered the optimal time each age group should be able to stand.
Balancing on one leg for more than 40 seconds continuously is an important sign of strength and mobility among 18- to 39-year-olds, they point out.
Those between the ages of 70 and 79, on the other hand, should achieve 18 to 19 seconds.
The reason standing on one leg is such a sign of fitness is because it uses so many different parts of the brain and body at the same time.
It tests balance and strength – and these two things are lost as a person becomes weaker, making him or her more susceptible to bone-crushing falls.
According to the NHS test, those attempting to test should aim to stand on one leg with their hands on their hips.
Balancing on one leg for more than 40 seconds continuously is an important sign of strength and mobility among 18- to 39-year-olds, health department says
Keep their eyes open, the timer starts as soon as the foot leaves the ground.
It stops when the foot is lowered or the hands are removed from the hips.
Those aged 18 to 39 should achieve 43 seconds, the NHS says, and 40 seconds if you’re aged between 40 and 49.
For 50 to 59 year olds the figure is 37 seconds and 30 for 60 to 69 year olds.
At 70 to 79 this drops to between 18 and 19 seconds just over five seconds if you are over 80.
Selina Lim, divisional director for Integrated Pathways at NHS East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We know that people who struggle to balance for expected periods of time are at greater risk of developing ill health as they get older.
‘By participating in the ‘flamingo challenge’, people can quickly and easily assess for themselves whether they are at risk.
‘If so, there are many different activities they can do that can help improve their overall fitness.’
It’s often said that being able to balance confidently on one leg is a good test of your health – and not just for flamingos
In 2019, beloved TV diet guru and Daily Mail columnist the late Dr. Michael Mosley for practicing balancing on one leg. Mosley noted that if you can do this for ten seconds with your eyes closed, you should be in good health – regardless of your age
According to a 2022 observational study, not being able to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in mid- to later life is linked to a nearly doubling of the risk of death from any cause within the next decade.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports MedicineResearchers who conducted the study in Brazil for 12 years said the test “provides rapid and objective feedback to patients and health professionals on static balance.”
It also adds “useful information on mortality risk in middle-aged and older men and women.”
Research has long suggested that, unlike aerobic fitness, muscular strength and flexibility, balance is maintained fairly well until people reach their 60s – from which point it deteriorates.
However, balance checks are not routinely included in health checks for older people because there is a lack of a standardized test to measure this.
There is also limited data on how balance relates to health, beyond an increased risk of falls.
In 2019, beloved TV diet guru and Daily Mail columnist the late Dr. Michael Mosley for practicing balancing on one leg.
Mosley noted that if you can do this for ten seconds with your eyes closed, you should be in good health, regardless of your age.
Last week, researchers from the US Mayo Clinic also discovered that the amount of time you can balance on one foot indicates how strong your bones, muscles and nerves are. For every ten years a person grew older, the time a person could stand on their non-dominant leg decreased by 2.2 seconds.
So if a 50-year-old person could balance for 15 seconds, a 60-year-old person could balance for 12.8 seconds.
For the dominant leg, the time they can hold drops by 1.7 seconds per decade.
The researchers said this test could be implemented in doctors’ offices as a low-cost, low-tech way to test bone strength and aging.