The other day, in my office, I lowered myself to a sitting position on the floor and then stood back up—trying to do all of this smoothly and without touching my knees, arms or hands to the floor.

In case you’re wondering, this isn’t a new “Gangnam Style” type of dance or anything—I was actually trying to take a quick physical test that I had read about in a recent study.

How come?

It helps predict how long you might live!

Want to learn more about how to take the test?

I thought so…

GET UP AND GET DOWN

Sitting down on the floor and rising up from it is a simple yet effective measurement of musculoskeletal fitness, explained Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, MD, MSc, PhD, a Brazilian exercise and sports medicine physician who designed the sitting-rising test to help people evaluate their strength, flexibility, balance and coordination.

The results may reflect your ability to perform basic actions such as bending down to tie your shoelaces, reaching up for a book on a high shelf, washing your back and carrying groceries—tasks you need to be able to do every day to remain independent, especially as you grow older. And as I mentioned earlier, the sitting-rising test is also a good indicator of how long you’re apt to live.

For his study, Dr. Araújo and his colleagues asked adults (average age 62) to wear loose clothing, stand barefoot and then try to sit down on the floor and stand up unassisted. The goal was for each person to use his or her knees, arms and hands as little as possible (ideally not at all) and to perform the sitting and standing motions as gracefully as possible (speed did not matter, but wobbling did). Researchers scored the participants from zero to 10 with 10 being the best possible score and with points being taken off for unsteadiness and for touching the floor with knees, hands or arms.

Then, over the next six years, researchers tracked which participants died, and here’s what they discovered: Those who had scored the poorest on the test (between zero and three) were 5.4 times more likely to die than those with the top scores (between eight and 10)—and this was true after researchers adjusted for sex, age and body mass index.

TAKE THE TEST!

Thousands of people have performed the test so far without getting injured, and Dr. Araújo encouraged people of all ages to try it. But to be safe (especially if you’re frail), if you decide to try the test, do it in front of someone who is strong enough to steady or catch you if you start to fall. Dr. Araújo cautioned: Do not take this test if you have had recent major surgery, have a hip or knee prosthesis, are an amputee, are severely handicapped or are in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

How to score yourself: From a starting score of 10, subtract one point for each body part (e.g., forearm, elbow, hand or knee) that you use to steady yourself as you sit down…and another one point for each body part that you use to steady yourself as you stand back up. For example, if you rest one hand on the floor both as you sit and stand, subtract two points and you get a score of eight. If you are wobbly going down or getting up, take off an additional half point for each. For more information on how to score yourself, watch this video made by Dr. Araújo. (It is in Portuguese but with English subtitles.)

How to interpret your score: The results are easy to understand. If you get a high score (8 or better), good for you. You’re at least reasonably fit and flexible and, other things being equal, you have a good chance of living a long life. If your score is lower than that, you might want to pay extra attention to your overall health, because you’re at higher risk for death. Dr. Araújo told me the problem might be excess body weight and/or fat, low flexibility, inadequate muscle strength or poor balance and coordination—but don’t worry, you can raise your score!

How to raise your score: Changing your lifestyle—for example, losing weight if you need to and doing more regular strength and flexibility exercises—will raise your score. Try making some lifestyle changes and then taking the test again (perhaps after a few months) to see whether you’ve improved. What’s encouraging is that each one-point increase equals a 21% reduction in your risk for death!