BRENT EDU

Standing on one leg can tell us about our age

''Concluded by standing on one leg, and repeating his favourite bellow with increased vehemence.''

Everyone knows how to find the age of a fallen tree. We count the number of rings on the tree's stump. A scientist has found a new way to measure the age of people … get them to stand on one leg. Dr Kenton Kaufman from the Mayo Clinic in the USA said standing on one leg shows how well a person can balance. He said balance becomes more difficult as we age. Dr Kaufman added: "Balance is an important measure because, in addition to muscle strength, it requires input from vision, the [hearing] system, and the [senses]." He added: "Good balance provides the ability to carry out activities of daily living without the fear of falling, and this leads to improved quality of life and healthy ageing."

Forty people over the age of 50 took part in the research. They did tests for walking, balance, grip, and knee strength. Each participant had to balance on their dominant and non-dominant leg for 30 seconds. They did this with their eyes closed, and again with their eyes open. Kaufman found that standing on the non-dominant leg showed the highest rate of decline with age. There was a 2.2-second-per-decade decline when participants stood on their non-dominant leg. This compared to 1.7 seconds for the dominant leg. Kaufman concluded: "Standing on one leg is a good measure of your overall health because balance reflects how the body's systems are working together."

Chat

Talk about these words from the article.

age / fallen trees / rings / measure / standing on one leg / muscle / vision / ageing / people over the age of 50 / walking / grip / knee strength / decline / seconds / health

True / False

1) Very few people know how to find out how old a tree is. T / F

2) Your age is the number of seconds you can balance on one leg. T / F

3) We need balance, muscle, vision and hearing to stand on one leg. T / F

4) Good balance means we do not need to be afraid of falling. T / F

5) Participants in the research were all over 60 years old. T / F

6) People tried to stand on one leg for 30 minutes. T / F

7) People stood on one leg with their eyes opened and closed. T / F

8) Standing on one leg shows how parts of the body work together. T / F

Discussion

1) What do you think about what you read?

2) How is your grip and knee strength?

3) What are you worried will decline with age?

4) What are the benefits of standing on one leg?

5) What are the bad things about ageing?

6) What three adjectives best describe this news story?

7) When might people need to stand on one leg?

8) What questions would you like to ask the researchers?