{"id":1017223,"date":"2026-08-22T15:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1017223\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T15:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:02:20","slug":"what-strength-and-balance-tests-reveal-about-healthy-aging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1017223\/","title":{"rendered":"What strength and balance tests reveal about healthy aging"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hand grip strength. Balance tests. Standing up from a seated position on the floor. These physical challenges are often touted as measurements of healthy aging<\/a> and even predictors of longevity.<\/p>\n

They can provide valuable indications of your stamina and strength. They can estimate the risk of falls<\/a>, which increase older adults<\/a> ‘ risk of death. And they\u2019re useful to doctors who work to address aging or people with injuries. <\/p>\n

But they\u2019re no crystal ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cA poor or declining result is a reason for a health professional to investigate why function is changing, rather than gauging how long someone will live,\u201d said Auriel Willette, an expert on brain aging at Rutgers University. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at what mobility tests<\/a> entail and how to apply the results to your health.<\/p>\n

This article is part of AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

A sit-to-stand test goes viral, but what does it really show?<\/p>\n

\u201cSit-to-stand\u201d tests come in several forms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s 30-second chair-stand test<\/a> is designed for patients older than 60, to see how many times they can stand up in that time period.<\/p>\n

Another test, popularized on social media<\/a>, asks someone to move from standing, to sitting cross-legged on the ground, and then back up to standing. Making your way down to the floor is worth 5 points, as is standing up, for a total score of 10. You lose a point for each support you use (such as a hand or knee) and half a point if you\u2019re unsteady. The score is zero if you\u2019re unable to sit or stand without external help.<\/p>\n

Doctors said they haven\u2019t seen the test used with older U.S. adults, but researchers in Brazil published studies in 2020<\/a> and 2025<\/a> that concluded middle-aged people who scored higher were less likely to die within about a decade.<\/p>\n

Many American doctors use a test called \u201cTimed Up and Go,\u201d or TUG. It requires the patient to get up from a chair, walk 10 feet (3 meters) and come back to their seat. That allows doctors to evaluate a person\u2019s balance, mobility and lower extremity strength all at once. <\/p>\n

Dr. George Hennawi, who treats older adults at MedStar Health in Baltimore, said all the tests are meant to pinpoint specific weaknesses and narrow down their underlying cause, whether that\u2019s knee pain, slow reflexes, poor balance or feeling winded or dizzy because of cardiovascular issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to react to it is to understand where did we not do well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A full picture of a person\u2019s health is important<\/p>\n

Tests like the viral sit-to-stand one are what doctors call screening tools. They\u2019re helpful in narrowing down issues, but they don\u2019t provide enough information for a full diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Other popular tests for a person\u2019s \u201cphysiological age,\u201d or how your body is aging, include tests of grip strength, walking speed, gait steadiness and balance. Such tests look at how hard your hand can squeeze something, whether you favor one side while walking, how long and well can you stand on one leg and how far forward can you reach without becoming unsteady.<\/p>\n

Many doctors also use these challenges to understand a person\u2019s risk for \u201cfrailty,\u201d a medical condition that means the body is less able to handle strain from illness or injury.<\/p>\n

Doctors sometimes use a 10-minute assessment called the Short Physical Performance Battery<\/a>, which includes several tests including gait, balance and strength. It was developed by the National Institute on Aging and large clinical trials have shown it predicts mortality, disability and more.<\/p>\n

At the University of California, Los Angeles\u2019 Multidisciplinary Falls Clinic, Dr. David Lee said it\u2019s important to look across multiple tests in combination. Grip strength, for example, is predictive of many different things, but it can be affected by arthritis, stroke or even simply not conditioning those muscles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one measure of many,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

Good health is about more than a good score<\/p>\n

Experts note that strength and mobility are just one part of healthy aging. Tests of cognition, memory, hearing, eyesight and many other measures are key to evaluating how someone is aging.<\/p>\n

They also cautioned against training to pass a test. Instead, keep the big picture in mind. Exercise<\/a> your whole body. Eat nutritious meals<\/a>. Address stress<\/a> in a healthy way. Prioritize your sleep<\/a>. Take care of your heart. <\/p>\n

Finally, experts said it\u2019s important to know the context in which a test has been studied and verified. If it\u2019s shown to predict an outcome for one age group, the performance standards won\u2019t necessarily apply to others.<\/p>\n

If you score poorly in a mobility test and are concerned about your fall risk, or have recently fallen, talk to your doctor. The test results are the first step in determining if you need an assistive device, physical therapy, a change in medications or something else, said Emily Nabors, a falls prevention expert with The National Council on Aging.<\/p>\n

She cited one estimate that more than a quarter of older adults fall each year, but most of them don\u2019t tell their doctor about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve fallen, you might feel fine,\u201d she said, \u201cbut you might not be fine at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hand grip strength. Balance tests. Standing up from a seated position on the floor. These physical challenges are…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1017224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[1081,3384,260427,168,407029,57,407028,210,61,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1017223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-aging","tag-be-well","tag-david-lee","tag-domestic-news","tag-emily-nabors","tag-general-news","tag-george-hennawi","tag-health","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117139770679140303","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1017223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1017224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1017223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1017223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1017223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}