https://health.udn.com/health/story/6008/8316217?from=udn_ch1005cate5681_pulldownmenu
除了各項數據指標，妙佑醫療機構（Mayo Clinic）的研究團隊表示，單腳站立就能測試生理年齡，根據團隊的統計數據，50歲的人平均可以維持平衡9秒，而80歲者平均能維持3秒。
每日郵報（Daily Mail）報導，根據妙佑醫療機構的數據，單腳站時50歲平均可維持9秒，60歲7秒、70歲4.5秒、80歲2.6秒。
妙佑表示，單腳站需要身體在同一時間進行許多複雜的行為，耳朵裡有很多小器官保持平衡，眼睛提供視覺線索，身體和腿部的許多大肌群也參與其中。
妙佑指出，單腳站可以測驗一個人骨骼、肌肉和神經的強壯程度，那些數據是衰弱症（frailty）的指標；衰弱會降低身體應對壓力和從疾病及跌倒中復原的能力，導致健康出問題。
報導指出，妙佑診所團隊找了40位50歲至80歲的參與者進行一系列與運動相關的測試，受測者排除體重過重及患有會影響其平衡能力疾病者。
（太好笑了吧！40位受試者，能代表什麼結果呢？）
在平衡測試中，受測者被要求單腳及雙腳站，雙腳站時向前看，一次睜眼一次閉眼，並將腳放在兩個測力板上，以測量腳對地面施加的力量；單腳測試時，物理治療師告訴參與者站直，雙臂以舒服的方式擺放，時間到了就用手抬起一條腿，看能維持多久。
研究團隊發現，隨著年齡每增長十歲，一個人能單腳站立的時間會減少2.2秒，因此，若50歲的人能夠保持平衡15秒，那60歲的人能保持平衡12.8秒。
除了平衡能力，受測者也進行力量和步履測試；測試結果顯示，走路方式不會隨著年紀增長而有太大改變，但平衡能力、握力和膝蓋力量會隨時間流逝而有變化，隨著年齡變化最大的是單腳平衡。
報導指出，這份研究的結論是研究結果能幫助優化相關訓練計劃，改善長者的平衡和力量，讓高齡的失能延後出現或得以避免。
Forget costly MRIs and DNA analysis - testing how healthy you are can be done in the comfort of your home.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic found the amount of time you are able to balance on one foot indicates how strong your bones, muscles and nerves are, which are the signs of frailty.
Being frail makes people more vulnerable to health problems because it reduces the body's ability to cope with stressors and recover from falls and illnesses.
The average 50 year old was able to balance for roughly nine seconds, whereas an 80 year old is only able to manage three seconds.
Standing on one foot requires your body to perform a series of complex tasks at the same time.
To stay upright, it involves tiny organs inside your ear which control balance, visual cues from your eyes and multiple large muscle groups in your legs and trunk.
In 2019, the late Daily Mail contributor Dr Michael Mosley remarked on the benefits of practicing balancing on one leg.
Mosley notedif you're able to do so for ten seconds with your eyes closed, you should be in good health - regardless of your age.
The wellness world has made an industry out of longevity testing. Reality-TV star Kim Kardashian made headlines last year by promoting full body MRIs to test for a number of age-related diseases.
Popular biohackers like Bryan Johnson measure everything from cholesterol levels to nighttime erections to get an idea of how they measure up to other people their age.
But scientists, like those from the Mayo Clinic team, are looking for simpler, more cost effective ways to give patients an idea of their health, both at home and in the doctor's office.
Science has long known that muscles, bones and movement deteriorate with age.
It's not clear whether strength, balance or your gait starts to go first, and therefore what is the best measure of age.
So the researchers from the Mayo Clinic aimed to determined this by performing a battery of movement-related tests on a 40 participants aged 50 to 80.
They excluded the obese and those with pre-existing conditions that would affect their balance or stride and created tests that measured their gait, balance and strength.
'I managed eight seconds, not bad for a 62-year-old,' said Dr Michael Mosley (pictured)
For strength testing, they used a custom device to test the grip strength of the participants and a test that involved extending the knee as quickly as possible.
The gait test had participants walk back and forth on a 26 foot walk way at a comfortable speed while wearing motion capture sensors three separate times.
They used measurements like speed, step length and stride length.
Finally, in the balance test, individuals were tested on two legs and one leg.
For the two leg test, they were instructed to look forward, once with eyes open and once with eyes closed, and put their feet on two force plates - which measure a the force someone exerts onto the ground.
For the one leg test, physical therapists told the participants to stand straight up with their arms in whatever position was comfortable.
They then were timed lifting and holding one leg at a time, for however long they were able to maintain balance.
The way they walked didn't change significantly as people aged, but the amount of time their balance, grip and knee strength did. The findings were published in the journal of the the Public Library of Science.
The measurement that changed the most with age was balancing on one leg. Researchers said this makes for a good measurement of frailty, independence, likelihood of a fall and nerve damage to the limbs.
With each decade of age, the amount of time someone was able to stand on their non-dominant leg declined by 2.2 seconds - so if someone who was 50 was able to balance for 15 seconds, someone who was 60 was able to balance for 12.8.
The two graphs show the amount of time someone was able to balance on their dominant and non-dominant feet, one at a time. On the non-dominant foot, the amount of time that participants were able to stand decreased by 2.2seconds per decade
For the dominant leg - the amount of time they were able to stand decline by 1.7 second per decade.
The researchers said that this test could be implemented in doctors offices as an inexpensive, low-technology way to test bone strength and aging.
They said: 'This finding is significant because this measurement does not require specialized expertise, advanced tools, or techniques for measurement and interpretation. It can be easily performed, even by individuals themselves.'
Having an idea of where you're at in your neuromuscular health can help you create a wellness plan that works for you.
For example, if strength or bone mass was lacking, an individual could incorporate some light weight training into their routine to try and regain some strength.
The researchers concluded that these results, 'can help optimize these training and maintenance programs to improve balance and strength in the elderly population, thereby postponing or avoiding disability.'
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