Try the sit-to-stand test to see how healthy your heart is

This seems like a simple functional biomarker that we may want to do on a yearly basis (as part of a full battery of regular tests and measures):

This simple test is an effective indicator of health because you have to have strong cardiovascular health, good balance, agility, flexibility, and core and leg strength to be able to complete it, Azar says.

What’s the research behind this?

A 2012 study (see below) found that the sitting to rising test (SRT) was a significant predictor of mortality in participants between ages 51 and 80. “The study found that the lower the score, you were seven times more likely to die in the next six years,” says Azar.

But, Azar points out, the people who scored lowest in the study were the oldest — meaning they also had the highest risk of death in the next six years.

Full news story:

Paper below:

deBrito-Floor-Rise-Mortality-2012…pdf (280.6 KB)

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@RapAdmin, apparently I need to work on my core and leg strength! :smile:
I was able to do it with the assistance of one hand but I was admittedly a bit unbalanced. The good news is that I believe this can be improved upon because I couldn’t get up on my own at all when I was younger but heavier.

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Don’t worry about it. This is just another fun, but seriously flawed study.

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I think of this “test” as a cheap parlor trick. It could also be counter productive as an example of a “simple” biomarker to monitor one’s health - as this certainly isn’t one.

But as far as cheap parlor tricks go - it is fun to try to learn the technique. It is easy to find how-to videos with an Internet search. I got pretty adept at it with practice. BUT - in my case, I found that I was putting a lot of torque on the foot and knee folded underneath, in the cross-leg position, as you come out of the sitting position. After doing this daily for over a year, I developed knee pain in the lower leg associated with the torque. It probably over developed my IT band, and caused a running injury.

N=1 here of course - but being a show-off always seems to catch up to me :slight_smile:

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I cannot even sit cross legged. It has never been a comfortable position. I do the test without cross legging.

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