Middle-aged and older adults who could not stand on one leg for 10 seconds died at nearly four times the rate of those who could over the next seven years, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in June 2022.
The observational study followed 1,702 Brazilian adults aged 51 to 75, with an average age of 61. About one in five failed the test. During a median follow-up of seven years, 17.5 percent of those who could not hold the pose had died, compared with 4.5 percent of those who could. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and existing conditions, an inability to balance was linked to an 84 percent higher risk of death from any cause.
Cancer accounted for the largest share of deaths at 32 percent, followed by cardiovascular disease at 30 percent, respiratory disease at 9 percent and COVID-19 at 7 percent.
How the test works
Participants stood on one leg without support, with the front of the free foot placed on the back of the opposite lower leg. Arms rested at the sides, gaze fixed straight ahead. They had up to three attempts on either foot.
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The design is stripped down. No equipment. Under 30 seconds from start to finish. The researchers, led by Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo at the Clinimex exercise medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro with colleagues at Bristol Medical School, argued the test is practical enough to add to routine checkups for adults over 50.
What is normal for your age
The share of people who can clear the 10-second mark drops sharply after 60, according to the Bristol Medical School summary of the study population.
51 to 55: about 95 percent succeed
56 to 60: about 92 percent
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61 to 65: about 82 percent
66 to 70: about 63 percent
71 to 75: about 46 percent
Total single-leg stance times fall on a similar curve. Reference values compiled by Hone Health from a large study of men run from around 43 seconds in the late teens through the 30s, down to about 27 seconds in the 60s and 18 seconds in the 70s.
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For a benchmark from separate research at the Mayo Clinic on aging and balance, Kenton Kaufman, director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, told AARP that "if you can balance on your leg for 30 seconds and you're over 65, you're doing very well." He added that being unable to hold five seconds is a cause for concern.
Why balance falls apart with age
Balance depends on three systems working together, vision, the inner ear's vestibular apparatus, and proprioception (the body's sense of its own position in space). Each of the three degrades with age.
Vestibular nerve cells begin to decline in number after around age 55, and blood flow to the inner ear drops in parallel. Proprioception weakens as muscle spindles change and nerve conduction slows. Layer on the loss of leg strength that comes with age, and the stability margin shrinks year by year.
The stakes go well beyond a stopwatch. Falls are the leading cause of injury among Americans aged 65 and older, and CDC data show about 1 in 4 older adults falls each year. In 2024, 43,020 older adults died from preventable falls, and the age-adjusted fall death rate rose 21 percent between 2018 and 2024.
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Exercises that build stability
Balance can be trained at any age. Reviews of exercise programs suggest that combined resistance and balance training can meaningfully reduce falls in community-dwelling adults over 65, and the World Health Organization recommends older adults do balance-focused activity at least three days a week.
Three practical starting points:
Single-leg stance. Stand behind a chair with your hands hovering over the back for safety, and lift one foot off the ground. Work up to 30 seconds on each leg, twice a day.
Heel-to-toe walking. Walk 20 steps placing the heel of the front foot directly against the toes of the back foot, arms out for stability.
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Sit-to-stand. Rise from a chair without using your hands, then sit back down slowly. Ten repetitions builds the leg strength that underpins balance.
Anyone with existing balance problems, a recent fall or an unsteady gait should check with a doctor before adding new exercises. A physical therapist can tailor a safer starting point.
The 10-second test is not a diagnosis. It is a snapshot of a system that quietly declines, and one that responds well when trained.