Are you at risk of premature death? Six easy ways to find out

Are you wondering what condition your body is in and do you have prospects for a long life? You do not need specialist research to find out about it. Simple stress tests that we can do at home are enough. We present six of them below. All of them are backed by scientific research.

1. A simple test of climbing stairs, squeezing hands or doing push-ups can tell about whether we will live longer, or if we are at risk of dying earlier.
2. For older people, such an indicator may be a brisk walk or standing on one leg
3. The research carried out in the past two decades was collected in one place by the British Daily Mail.
4. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

How to assess the risk of premature death? Stand on one leg

A team of scientists led by Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo from the Clinimex exercise medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro conducted a study which shows that People who cannot stand for 10 seconds without a support on one leg are 84 percent. more at risk of premature death than those exercised correctly.

1,7 thousand people participated in the study. participants aged 50 to 75 who performed various fitness tests. Then, for an average of seven years, the health of each of them was monitored. 123 people from the group of respondents died. It should be emphasized, however, that it was not the problems with balance that were the actual cause of their deaths. You can read more about the study here: A simple test will assess your risk of dying in the next 10 years. 10 seconds is enough.

How to assess the risk of premature death? Walking fast

In addition to the “balance test”, the brisk walking exercise also speaks about the risk of early death in the elderly.

Researchers at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research measured the walking speed of 3 200 people over the age of 65. These individuals were then followed by doctors for an average of five years.

Study participants were asked to walk a six-meter stretch of the corridor. The slowest men walked at 90 m / min, the fastest men walked more than 110 m / min. In the case of women, the slowest distance was covered at a speed of 81 m / min, the fastest at a speed exceeding 90 m / min.

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Over 200 people from the group of respondents died within a few years. The analysis showed that the slowest group of walkers was 44 percent. more likely to die earlier compared to the fastest group.

What relationship did scientists find in this case? People who walk faster are generally fitter and healthier, they say cardiovascular system.

How to assess the risk of premature death? Sitting and standing up

Another simple test of life expectancy is getting up from a sitting position without needing to get hold of something.

A team of researchers from Gama Filho University in Brazil invited 2 people to participate in the research. 2 people aged 51 to 80. The results were published in the «European Journal of Preventive Cardiology» last year.

The participants, barefoot and loosely dressed, were asked to sit cross-legged from a standing position without any support. Then they had to get up, also without help.

The exercise was rated for a maximum of 10 points. One point was deducted for each support or loss of balance.

159 people died in the six years after the research. The results showed that those who had the most difficulty in correctly completing the exercise (scores between zero and three) were 5,4 times more likely to die compared to those who did it without problems.

According to the authors, decreasing mobility, flexibility and muscle work with age reflect deterioration in general health.

How to assess the risk of premature death? Walking up the stairs

How we climb the stairs also says a lot about the prospects for a longer life.

In this study, conducted in Spain, 12 people took part. people. The analyzed exercise was running on a treadmill, but the efforts made during its performance were translated by the authors of the study into climbing stairs. The results were published in the «European Heart Journal» in 2018, previously the health of the participants was monitored for five years.

During this time, 1,2 percent died. people who did well during the research and 3,2 percent. those who had serious problems. Death rates and risk heart disease in people in poor condition, they were therefore almost three times higher.

According to scientists, the state of our heart can be judged by whether we can go quickly to the third floor without stopping or to the fourth floor, also without rest, but at a slower pace.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at Complejo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña, advises people who have difficulty climbing stairs to exercise more often to maintain weight, blood pressure and other parameters at an appropriate level.

How to assess the risk of premature death? A strong handshake

Inability to shake hands firmly can also be a cause for concern. A study by scientists from the University of Glasgow showed that people with a weaker grip are 20 percent. more likely to die earlier.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2018, the strength of a hug of 500 was tested. people aged 40 to 69. Their grip was measured with a hand-held dynamometer, the device was squeezed with both right and left hand, and the researchers measured the average force.

Within seven years after the test, 13 died. 322 of its participants. An analysis based on data from Biobank, a huge database of information on British health, showed that for every 5 kg drop in participants’ grip strength, the risk of dying from any cause (mainly cardiovascular disease and cancer) increases by 20%.

According to the authors of the research, grip strength is an indicator of the condition of skeletal muscles. Their weakening, in turn, is associated with the risk of many diseases.

How to assess the risk of premature death? Push-ups

At the end, the most demanding exercise, the so-called pushups. This time it has been shown that people who have difficulty doing 10 pushups are almost twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as those who can do 40 pushups..

The participants of the research were 1 thousand. 100 firefighters asked to do as many push-ups as possible. After 10 years of observation, the results were published in the “JAMA Network Open”. They show that 37 firefighters were diagnosed with heart disease. Comparing this to exercise results, those who did more than 40 push-ups were 96 percent. less likely to develop these conditions compared with those who did less than 10.

According to experts, push-ups, i.e. a test of muscle strength and fitness, reflect the risk of many diseases, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time, we asked Orina Krajewska what, according to her, a holistic approach to health is. How to combine the three aspects – body, spirit and mind to enjoy balance and good health? You will hear about this and many other aspects of the topic in the latest episode of our podcast.