If you could only have one test...which would it be?

[Derslickmeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by naggz Sitting Rising Test: Ability to sit and rise from the floor is closely correlated with all-cause mortality risk | EurekAlert! Science News Watch how the sitting-rising test is carried out | Daily Mail Online

Haha, I'm toast...

[audreyh1]

OK, I finally tried this.

Sitting, no problem.

Standing. Was able, although I had enough momentum rising that I took a couple steps back once I was up.

I think it's just a matter of practice to judge how much momentum is needed.

But now my knees and ankles aren't happy......

I don't hink I'm going to practice this. I'll just keep doing yoga.

[calmloki]

Crossing my legs as far as demo woman had them resulted in staggering around. Keeping my feet close when crossed I got up and down without much drama - maybe a point or two off for lack of fluid grace. Not gonna stop a bus from hitting me.

[naggz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley This is obviously not true. The ability to sit and rise like they demonstrate is closely tied to age, as in I could do it easily at age 30, and it gets harder and harder each decade. Now at almost 60 I'd probably get a 4 or so on the test, mostly because of the standing back up part. However, if you look at actuarial tables I, at age 60, have a life expectancy of age 83.4. But a 30 year old only has a life expectancy of 82.2. So there! Scientifically disproven.

The study does conclude "Multivariate analysis adjusting for age, sex, and BMI confirmed these findings, with similar hazard ratios as those in the unadjusted model"

http://geriatrictoolkit.missouri.edu...lity-2012..pdf

One big difference between the study and trying at home is that the the participants were just told "Without worrying about the speed of movement, try to sit and then to rise from the floor, using the minimum support that you believe is needed." and they likely didn't get to see a video showing the best technique for the highest score.

[sengsational]

Yeah, but the observers told the participants what they could do to improve their score, and the highest score was the one recorded. So I think the participants got a stepwise progression to the limits of their ability.

[donheff]

I am in far better shape that most of my peers - ride a bike about 30 miles/day, lift in the gym, planks, great BP, low fat, blah, blah, blah. But I could never do that sitting rising deal. I think it is something to do with my joints not having flexibility. In any event, if I use that as a measure I am on my death bed.

[RonBoyd]

To put the OP's query in perspective:

Doctoring Data: How to sort out medical advice from medical nonsense.

Quote:

Is coffee good for you? Will sausages kill you? Should you avoid sugar, fat, salt or all three? Booked your smear test yet? Checked your balls? Considering bariatric surgery? Are you taking statins like a good little boy or girl?.. Or should you just ignore this relentless bombardment of medical advice and remember that no one gets out alive?

Quote:

" It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgement of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine. " Dr Marcia Angell

From Tom Naughton:

Quote:

Dr. Malcolm Kendrick is the Mark Twain of medical writers, wielding his own pen warmed up in hell. Hell, in this case, is a modern medical system designed to persuade doctors and the public that nearly everyone with a pulse is abnormal and in need of treatment. In fact, I can summarize Kendrick’s latest book Doctoring Data by paraphrasing Twain himself: “If your doctor doesn’t read the medical literature, he is uninformed. If he does read the medical literature, he is misinformed.”

Edit: Tom's quote can be found here: Fat Head » Review: Doctoring Data

[BTravlin]

Looking at the average size of most Americans these days I would say a person's BMI is the easiest indicator of overall health. Rampant obesity is quickly running up the increased incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint failures and a myriad of other health problems.

I eat a lot and a lot of stuff that isn't especially good for me but I do exercise and my BMI is in the middle of the range for a male of my age and height. Considering the overwhelming obesity of people I see everyday, I just can't fathom what these people are eating and how much!

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTravlin ... and my BMI is in the middle of the range for a male of my age and height.

What method are you using to measure that? For instance, "The Army Weight Control Program"?

(Also found at Army Weight Control Program (AWCP) | Military.com)

(A calculator can be found here: Army Body Fat Calculator)

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR The left one... Oh, you said "test"; nevermind...

I humor is juvenile and these are the posts that keep me reading this forum!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[BTravlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd What method are you using to measure that? For instance, "The Army Weight Control Program"? (Also found at Army Weight Control Program (AWCP) | Military.com) (A calculator can be found here: Army Body Fat Calculator)

I use this one: CDC - Calculating BMI

There are others out there that include measurements of wrist circumference and the like that are supposed to be more accurate but this is close enough for me.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTravlin Looking at the average size of most Americans these days I would say a person's BMI is the easiest indicator of overall health. Rampant obesity is quickly running up the increased incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint failures and a myriad of other health problems. I eat a lot and a lot of stuff that isn't especially good for me but I do exercise and my BMI is in the middle of the range for a male of my age and height. Considering the overwhelming obesity of people I see everyday, I just can't fathom what these people are eating and how much!

DW was just commenting on that this morning. She was looking at old family photos from 1960's on and even with casual friends the obesity so common now just isn't there. All the kids are rail-thin, some of the adults might have a bit of a paunch but no one was obese.

So what happened? Can't blame it all on potato chips as we certainly had those then - just not much of it. Too many restaurant meals and meals out of boxes? Is it realistic to blame it on fast food? We so rarely eat out that I have little idea of what is "normal" for eating out.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 So what happened? Can't blame it all on potato chips as we certainly had those then - just not much of it.

Portion control, as you pointed out.

When I was a kid, a bottle of Coke was 6 ounces, and considered a treat.
Today, 20 ounces is considered a normal serving by most people, and much larger portions are common.

[RonBoyd]

Again, I bring up Dr. Kendrick. Here another excerpt from Tom Naughton's review of his book:

Quote:

In the chapter titled Challenges to the status quo are crushed – and how!, Kendrick cites examples of how results that challenge prevailing medical opinion are squashed … or fudged, or simply ignored. For example, one study was published with the title Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. Well, there you go: you clearly don’t want to be overweight or underweight. If your doctor glanced at the journal article, that’s the conclusion he or she would draw. Just one little problem: the actual study data showed that people in the overweight category (BMI of 25 to 30) had the longest lifespans. But wait, it gets even better: You may note that, in this study, even those in the obese category (BMI 30-35) had a lower mortality than those of ‘normal’ weight. The overwhelming belief in the medical community is that being overweight is bad for you. It causes a host of diseases, which will inevitably result in premature death. To state that being overweight means that you live longer is the scientific equivalent of standing up and shouting that the Emperor is not actually wearing any clothes at all. <snip> If the medical world crushes people who say being overweight won’t kill you any sooner, imagine how it treats people who say statins won’t save your life. Time to call in the North Korean generals with the funny hats.

(I have written to Tom asking for clarification on the part I snipped.)

[heeyy_joe]

I pass one test every day. I wake up.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTravlin Looking at the average size of most Americans these days I would say a person's BMI is the easiest indicator of overall health. Rampant obesity is quickly running up the increased incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint failures and a myriad of other health problems. I eat a lot and a lot of stuff that isn't especially good for me but I do exercise and my BMI is in the middle of the range for a male of my age and height. Considering the overwhelming obesity of people I see everyday, I just can't fathom what these people are eating and how much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Again, I bring up Dr. Kendrick. Here another excerpt from Tom Naughton's review of his book: (I have written to Tom asking for clarification on the part I snipped.)

I was going to bring up the studies that show that overweight and slightly obese people have longer life spans, but I see Ron beat me to it. So obviously I don't think BMI is the most important test. However, based on BTravlin's statement about food intake and all the conditions that are tied to it, I started to wonder what we're defining as health? Is it a longer life span (without requiring live in care or a nursing home)? Or is it the ability to do semi-athletic activities without popping a blood vessel?

I've been coming to the viewpoint that Dr. Kendrick espouses, that nobody is going to get out alive, and life should be lived and enjoyed. Having said that, I would like to lose some more weight and be a bit more flexible and balanced so I can do things like get in and out of my kayak easier. Obviously, at nearly 60 I'm going to feel aches and pains doing things I used to do without them. But I can minimize that with things like diet, and maybe keeping up my Qi Gong and Tai Chi classes.

So I guess my definition of health is the ability to do most of the activities you enjoy. My definition of happiness is doing most of the activities I enjoy, including eating and drinking and smoking things that are blacklisted in today's society. I know I'm going to die at some point, and I'm hoping all my diseases and conditions help make it fast when it happens. But in the meantime I'd like to enjoy my life.

So I have to chime in with the people who are saying the one test they think is most important is getting out of bed in the morning. Or early afternoon, depending on how fun the night was.

[RonBoyd]

Hear, hear.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Hear, hear.

Thanks RonBoyd and Harley. SomeHow I missed that important little nugget.

The Problem With All of This 'Overweight People Live Longer' News — The Atlantic

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Again, I bring up Dr. Kendrick. Here another excerpt from Tom Naughton's review of his book: (I have written to Tom asking for clarification on the part I snipped.)

I did not know that BMI between 25 and 30 has better longevity statistics. I won't feel compelled to push my weight back into the "normal" range.

[RonBoyd]

And it doesn't hurt to revisit this gem from "60 Minutes" periodically (or, at least, keep it in mind all the time):

Living to 90 and beyond - CBS News