How long can you do it for? (Picture: Getty Images)
A quick minute(ish) activity can reveal a lot about your health.
We know our bodies change physically as we get age: from our skin and hair, to the ability to digest certain foods.
And now, recent research reveals the length of time you can stand on one leg also changes with age. In a new paper, a team of researchers suggest that strength and balance involved in the pose is among the first to go.
The researchers found that after the age of 65, there was a sharp drop off as older participants struggled to hold their stance for over two seconds.
In the study, which is published in the journal PLoS One, the authors wrote: ‘These findings suggest that the duration of unipedal stance [standing on one leg] can serve as a reliable and gender-independent measure of neuromuscular aging for both elderly male and female subjects.’
It can be a good indicator of certain health factors (Picture: Getty)
So, standing on one leg is a good way to measure how much balance you have. The researchers wrote that it is a ‘a valid measure of frailty, independence, and fall status and proves to be a useful tool in identifying patients with peripheral neuropathy.’
And luckily for us, the NHS has a guideline on how long you should be able to stand on one leg for – depending on your age of course.
Just last year, the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Board asked: ‘How long can you stand on one leg like a flamingo?’
Make like a flamingo… (Picture: Getty)
They added: ‘It might sound like an odd question, but your answer to the above question could tell you a lot about your general health and fitness’.
The rules are:
Stand on one leg without any other support
Keep your eyes open and your hands on your hips
Time starts when your foot leaves the ground and stops when you put your foot back down (or when you take your hands off your hips)
Ages 18-39: 43 seconds
Young people should be able to hold the pose for quite some time (Picture: Getty)
If you are aged between 18-39, you should be able to stand on one leg, like a flamingo, for 43 seconds.
Selina Lim, Divisional Director for Integrated Pathways at the NHS East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), said: ‘We know that people who struggle to balance for the expected amount of time are at a higher risk of developing ill-health as they age.
‘By taking part in the “flamingo challenge” people can quickly and easily assess for themselves whether they are at risk. If they are, there are lots of different activities they can engage in that can help improve their overall fitness.’
Ages 40-49: 40 seconds
It may not seem like a long time, but give it a try (Picture: Getty)
If you are aged between 40 and 49, you should be able to …read more
Source:: Metro
