Overview

• The sitting-rising test measures non-aerobic fitness by scoring how many supports a person uses when moving from standing to the floor and back up without assistance.
• In a 12-year study of over 4,200 adults aged 46 to 75, participants who scored between 0 and 4 points faced a 42.1% death rate versus 3.7% for those with perfect 10 scores.
• Researchers report that low scorers were more than six times as likely to die from cardiovascular causes compared with perfect scorers.
• Physicians can use the simple exercise as a screening tool to initiate discussions about mobility, strength training and flexibility for healthy aging.
• Experts say targeted interventions such as weight training, balance drills and stretching can improve test performance and may reduce mortality risk.