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Can you get up off the floor without using your hands, arms or knees to help you?
A simple test that looks at how easy -- or difficult -- it is for you to sit down on the floor and then get back up may help predict how long you’re going to live, a new study shows.
Middle-aged and elderly people who needed to use both hands and knees to get up and down were almost seven times more likely to die within six years, compared to those who could spring up and down without support, Brazilian researchers reported Thursday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Doctors have long used the chair test -- where a person stands up from a sitting position -- to determine leg strength and lower body fitness of seniors. But the new test is more difficult and can be used with a younger group, said cardiologist Dr. Kathryn Berlacher, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
While the most important factor controlling the ease of getting down and then up is the ratio of muscle power to body weight, there are “other very relevant issues including body flexibility, balance, and motor coordination,” said Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a professor at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro who worked on the study.
Ultimately the test gives a quick window into a patient’s ability to function from day to day.
“Moving, for the average person, especially those who are older, and the ability to rise from the floor is very much relevant for autonomy,” Araújo said. “Imagine if your glasses went below the bed. You would need to sit on the floor to reach then and then you would need to rise.”
The researchers followed 2002 adults aged 51 to 80 for an average of 6.3 years. Sixty-eight percent were men. At the outset, each study volunteer was asked to sit down on the floor and then get up, using the least amount of support from hands, knees and other body parts.
The volunteers could score five points if they could sit down without touching their knees, legs, hands, or arms on the floor and another five points if they could get back up unaided.
They lost a point for each body part that was leaned on while getting down or up. So, people who could get down touching the floor with just one knee scored four points. If they needed to touch a hand and a knee on the floor as they were rising, they would lose two points for a score of three. If the volunteers looked wobbly on the way down or up, they lost half a point.
The most agile ended up with a combined score of 10 while those who couldn’t get down or up at all were scored with a zero.
During the course of the study 159 of the volunteers died, with the majority of the deaths in the group that had the most trouble getting up and down.
A person’s score matched well with risk of death. People who scored zero to three were 6.5 times as likely to die during the course of the study, compared to people who scored from 8 to 10. Those who had scores of 3.5 to 5.5 were 3.8 times as likely to die as the high scorers -- and those who scored 6 to 7.4 range were 1.8 times more likely to die than those with the highest scores.
“Just two subjects that scored 10 died in the follow-up of about six years,” says Araújo. If someone between the ages of 51 and 80 scores 10, “the chances of being alive in the next six years are quite good,” he said.
The test may be most valuable as a tool for primary care physicians to show patients they need to work on their health, Berlacher said. “These days most don’t exercise and if you ask them whether they walk up stairs they tell you about knee and ankle pain. So it’s hard to truly assess them.”
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It's Bush's fault. LOL
I know, that's funny, but wouldn't you agree that liberals are thinner, healthier and better looking than conservatives? Conservatives are older, fatter, grouchier, and less happy. And certainly after this election, they've had a harder time getting up off the floor.
(Those are jokes. But seriously - had you ever been to a red state like Mississippi? Think blimp factory.)
But seriously, have you been to the USA? Blimp factory.
noncomes - Conservatives are too busy working to stay in shape....
noncoms " liberals are thinner, healthier and better looking than conservatives"............ I'd be willing to bet you any amount of money that the average weight of Obama votors is higher than the average weight of Romney votors. This is provable, but I would be accused of being racist if I proved it to you, so I won't. But you can look it up if you want to.
Avogardo: Where I can look this up? Sounds like total BS to me.
LMFatAO!
Avogadro, how on earth would providing evidence for your assertions be "racist?" Are you going to present figures for non-whites only, is that it?
Or are you using an excuse to keep from having to prove your assertions? Take a chance: prove them anyway.
If you can.
and how many people were injured trying to sit down
It is total BS.
Avogardo is your typical goosestepper: Makes up some lie, spews it out, then disappears.
Other related waste of money studies found:
People that did not eat...died.
People that had all their red blood cells removed....died
People that their heart stopped beating.....died
People that died....died
People that listen to country music played backwards....get their dog, horse, truck, and wives back.
Brian McCue
noncomes - Conservatives are too busy working to stay in shape....
=============================================
Working at what? Sitting around counting their money? Working construction, the assembly line, directing traffic, fighting fires, collecting garbage and recycleables, walking the sales floor, painting houses, conducting PE classes, etc., certainly won't add pounds to the body, but nice try, Brian.
Jeff N.-1053549:
Would you mind posting the link to prove your last assertion? I don't believe that study was done.
How did this become political ...and something over which to argue?
BTW: one of the best predictors of one's life span is the longevity of one's parents. Some people smoke, drink and never exercise and live to be 90. Others eat macrobiotic diets, vomit at the sight of tobacco, run triathlons, and drop dead at age 47.
No justice.
One thing for sure, we all go.
Researchers discovered that every time a Republican was asked to sit on their arse without touching their knees, legs, hands, or arms on the floor, they would land on their head.
Look up the top healthiest states and the majority of them are blue states. There are some red states in the mix too, but between climate, diet, exercise, and whatever other factors one wants to consider, the northeast and northwest come out pretty well and the deep south doesn't fair as well.
I don't attribute it to people's politics alone, though. In fact I think it may be the other way around. People who are more active and make more positive lifestyle choices may just depend on more publicly sponsored recreational and health options and may therefore lean towards government having more of an active role in public health. Blue states were also much quicker to enact public smoking bans, menu and labeling requirements, and tighter environmental controls which over time do seem to be paying off in health benefits to the public compared to states that didn't take those actions.
No, rightwingers are healthier than lefties......the South has many fat black people, all Democrats, which skews the data.
Highest obesity rates in America are blacks, then Hispanics, says the CDC.
So, obviously, Democrats are fatter, and less healthy
QED
I couldn't pass that test when I was a teenager (no, I am not fat) and still need to use one hand. I'm certainly not young, but believe their prediction of 'likely to die within six years' is total bullsh1t. Quackery at its finest.
The story doesn't say "likely to die", it says "more likely to die" than those who could rise without support.
I'd be interested in seeing if the test accounted for other factors, such as arthritis of an injured back. I have had both since before I was diagnosed back in 2000, and I'd likely have scored a 0 even back then in my early 30's. Since I am still around, and otherwise in good health, I doubt this test would accurately predict much in my case, even though I am now middle-aged. Hell, i knew people in HS who, as results of sports injuries, would have scored very low, and 30 years later they are still doing fine, albeit a slight limp or some other indication of the old injury. Did these Drs also look at genetics and history of fatal illnesses in the family of the volunteers? Did they note people who have a family history of early deaths? By itself, I would deem this test to be worthless without a full background history of each patient, and a full physical. The ability to get up and down easily is effected by so many factors that to call this anything other than speculative is absurd. Factor in it was done in Brazil, a country where life expectancy is more a factor of money (the rich are very rich while the poor are very poor and few fall in the middle). The poor have few choices in healthy diet, access to medicine and health care, and are exposed to more germs as they live in slums the like of which the US has never seen even at the worst slum days of the nineteenth century.
However this will cease to be "news" long before peer reviews, so when it is shown to have flaws, don't expect to hear about it in the US.
This, right here, is my biggest beef. News agencies report on the results of studies before they are peer-reviewed. I don't know if that's the case for this issue or not.
CelticPagan-- you gave some of the variables that can affect an outcome. My mom-in-law has major problems with her back - 5 compression fractures that surgery will NOT help, is 85 years old, yet has a lot of spunk--she gets up and does what she can in spite of the pain. She does take pain medication which enables her to be more active. She is very active in her community. I think attitude is also a variable--people with a lot of spunk are not going to just give up and die as quickly, so they are increasing their life span and quality of life. My personal belief on this is that we are all born with a genetic predisposition for a certain life span, but many factors can impact that life span such as diet and exercise, attitude, and paying attention to surroundings, etc.
I'm 26 and I can do it, but only if I cross my legs first and then push upwards with my ankles. I'm sure doing that is doing no good for my ankles, but this survey, like so many, is ridiculous to begin with. It's stating the obvious (that those who are more fit and flexible tend to live longer), kind of like saying people who own guns are more likely to suffer an accident involving a gun than people who don't. Really?
Celtic
I'm with you. I have arthritis in both knees and it does take me both hands and knees and a support to get up off the floor. However, I regularly go on 5 mile hikes and nobody believes me when I tell them I'm almost 60.
Lisa C- I very much agree with you. My two grandmothers, both about 70 years old, appear to be decades apart in age. One is very active, always visiting the great-grandkids spread out around two states, helping out at church, etc. She's had at least two spinal surgeries but just keeps going (She's currently on a forced break after getting 2 stents put in two days ago, but is already home and working on getting back to normal).
The other grandmother is more of a homebody, and is usually at home watching tv or reading magazines. She had a 6 bypass surgery over 10 years ago, and has a bit of dimentia.
Going off these two examples, I'm definately going to do my best to keep my mind and body active as I get older. It seems to make a huge difference in quality of life.
I'm pushing 60, but it's the mileage, not the years. I worked construction for two decades; shattered my leg in an ice accident; have torn up more musculature than I want to claim; recently broke my hip (stepping in a hole while mowing grass--of all things); and so much more that I'm not going to list here. I'm not accident prone, I've just had a rough, hardworking life--and I'm a woman. None of the list has stopped me yet. Even though my arthritis kills me, I still put in a full garden, work on my car, take care of my house, etc. And I use my hands, knees, chair, and anything else to help me get off the floor. (If I'm on the floor, I do everything I can while down there, because it's such a pain to get off of it.)
I sincerely wish they would study something that would be beneficial to all of us instead of this junk science. I'll probably outlive most of you because the family genetics decree that we women live well into our 90s and older. My mother is in her mid 80s, and even though she has her problems, I'll bet she outlives (in age) most of the people who did this study. If she actually took care of herself, I'd bet she'd make it to triple digits. And no, she doesn't get on the floor either.
Many posts relating anecdotal reasons why this study is inaccurate, etc.
It's a statistical study. There are always deviations (exceptions) but on a broad cross section of the public it will likely hold as accurate. If you or your friends or loved ones are exceptions take it as a blessing and still appreciate the findings. Which are pretty much what would be expected if you asked me.
The 'perfect' score of 10 will not be attainable by most people, so don't feel as though you should be able to or you will die soon. That score exists solely to cover both extremes of possibility for any given person.
Much more likely overall score is 8 or 9.
I'd like to see how you get up off the floor without your knees touching it. Maybe if you're a professional dancer, NFL cheerleader, or olympic gymnast, but I can't figure out how any ordinary person would do it. Maybe you're supposed to rock back and forth up onto your feet?
GeneralE- I can do it, and I'm a somewhat overweight 36 year old mom of two with a desk job. I do get exercise, but it's mostly in the form of walking the dog or chasing the naked toddler at bath time, and I haven't done any sort of gymnastics since I was about 10. I do, however, have muscular legs and good balance- which I think is a large part of being able to do that. Like stated above, I do it in a cross-legged position, and standing up involves pushing against the outsides of my feet.
I can get down without using my knees (which surprised me but I've been going to the gym for a month now and working on my core). I can't get back up without using at least one knee and I can't remember ever being able to.
I don't think I'm going to die in 6 years but you never know about stray buses. However, I can see how this could be a good indicator because if you fall and can't get up you have to wait until someone comes and gets you up. So the lesson is be nice to your kids and carry your cell phone at all times.
Come on, folks. They aren't saying "People in group X are all going to die in 6 years, and people in group Y are going to live forever!" They are showing statistical likelihoods. Those able to easily sit or stand with less support are IN GENERAL going to live longer. Obviously some who can will still die earlier and some who can't are unable to because of various outlier causes that don't necessarily contribute to an early demise. It's kind of like claiming that a study showing that smokers tend to die younger than nonsmokers is bogus because my grandma smoked her whole life and is in her 90s. One data point does not a statistic make.
Well said Jeff. Nevertheless, people should strive to be nimble enough to pass this test.
If this is supposed scientific, we are all trouble! Come up with something real and valuable and not this nonsense.
Its all relative to age. A 1 year old human cannot stand and walk on its two feet and poops on itself. The 1 year old human is not about dying in six years. Past the age of 50. When you cannot stand and walk on your two feet and you are pooping on yourself, you are about to die in six years.
Hey I just did it ten times in a row and I'm over fifty. No problem. Guess I'll live forever. Only thing is I'm a little out of breath because I was smoking a cigarette at the same time.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Statistical evidence says nothing. It's just numbers crunching. And a good cruncher with a dictionary can come up with all sorts of variants. This is junk science. It proves nothing, and it says nothing that can't be flexed one way or another. Like I've said before, come up with something that will help us, not measure us against some judgmental and subjective measuring stick.
I would like to see anybody rise to their feet from a sitting position on the floor without using a hand, knee or anything else. Mainly because I am sure I could do it if I saw how they did it. I just took the test, and needed a hand for balance only. 9.
I could do this all day long, with my legs crossed and with my feet tucked back on both sides of my hips, then at age 46 my colon ruptured. I've had a total of 7 surgeries on my abdomen - not a chance in hell I'm going to try it now at 57yo.
Go read 300 water meters a day (before the new electronic readers), you will have a core and thighs stronger than any TV ad workout.
Flexibility came in very handy when wrestling older brothers.
COinFL; if they are full strength Camel bare-ass, then I'm impressed. If they are the wimpy Native ultra lights that I smoke, then not so much. I don't inhale much - I mostly just make a big stinky cloud around me - it's harder on my computer parts than it is on me (all x-rays show not lung damage...yet).
I am 51, and in pretty good shape, but for the life of me, I could not get up without using one hand or a knee.
WOW ! If you're in good shape you are less likely to die. These guy's must be geniuses for Discovering what everyone with half a brain has know since the dawn of time. At least the US government didn't fund this study. What's next ? A study that proves that Dumb people make more mistakes ?
why did bruce lee die so young then ? he could spring off the floor into a jump kick without using any limbs.
I understand the basic premise...but let's be reasonable and look at the article with a new title and explanation:
-Study shows that if a middle aged person gets off their feet and down on the ground and struggles to get back up, chances are there is something wrong with them and they probably won't live long.-
-Assuming it is something that medical attention cannot remedy and not related related to a chronic but minor disease, they will probably die within half a decade.-
Really? Do you think?
I guess Mick Jagger will live to be 200.
He wasn't middle age or elderly, evidently you have to get there before this study is accurate. Now we just need to figure out how many middle aged and elderly are still on the floor waiting for paramedics after reading this article.
CelticPagan, I think this test does take Arthritis and bad backs into consideration. Arthritis and RA are degenerative diseases that can lead to other conditions so they definitely can decrease longevity by some amount. A bad back in itself may not be life shortening, but if it affects your ability to avoid falls or to quickly get out off harm's way it definitely could. Also, people with both arthritis and bad backs take more medications for pain management and they have side effects and put an additional strain on the liver.
Mike-
THANK YOU so much for pointing out that conditions that affect one's mobility have a negative impact on overall health and longevity, just as a cardiac condition, impaired vision, or liver disease do. It's not a death sentence, folks, just another factor in aging. You and your bilateral knee replacements may live to 100!
lol I used to prank my friends with stuff like this. "Did you know that if your hand is bigger than your face you have cancer?" and when they put they're hand on their face you tickle their ribs and run. XD
I wonder what I can do this one.
It would be instructive to see other correlations, were most of the low scoring people in their 80's, or were they distributed more or less randomly? If you are 80+ you are certainly less likely to survive another 6 years than a 30 year old.
Arthritis is a huge factor and the article does not seem to develop its effects. Actually, there are two main kinds of arthritis which my own mom explained to me and she has Osteoarthritis, not Rheumatoid Arthritis. And she says she is blessed, because Osteo- hits joints and not vital organs as Rheumatoid does. Osteo- can be painful, but she tells me she just grins and bears it.
She is 82 years old and has titanium hip joints, carpel tunnel surgery on both wrists, a neck surgery on her spine which removed, she explained, certain nerve endings that were being crushed by the joints within the spine. What is amazing to me is that her neck flexibility is not seriously limited and she still drives her car, having passed an extensive driving test when time came to renew her license.
She has painful episodes, yes, especially this time of year when the atmosphere is high humidity and low temperatures, mostly down to or below freezing. But, she avoids pain pills (the kind that can become addictive) as much as possible and she tells me that it's amazing for her that mild exercise (housework, walking with her cane when possible, most basic physical activity) really helps. Additionally, she laughs, she doesn't watch TeeVee any more and squatting in a chair staring glassy-eyed at the set.
On the other hand, when pain blips (her word), she grabs a good book in which she can become immersed which gets her mind off the joint pain. And yes, she says, there are times when the pain is so bad she is close to crying, and then she will take a pill with hydrocodone in it, but even that she cuts in half. She is proud of the fact that she goes two or three weeks avoiding even one dose of it.
My mom has only an 8th grade education from an era when "entitlements" basically did not exist. Her father died when still in his 40's, and she and her brother quit school to get jobs to support their mom and kid sister.
It's my belief that my mom is a fantastically intelligent woman before the era of feminism. And just via hard work starting as a file clerk, and literally working her way up the employment ladder, she, after her widowhood, singly raised me, and saw to it I did go to college... her dream.
She told me once that she avoids pain pills made of addictive drugs because the most important thing for her is keep the gray matter between her ears healthy and working right.
It's my feeling that too many persons with those advanced double digits of age, are NOT automatically "senile"! I've met her friends, and, yes, physically they cannot get up and down off floors as this article suggests. But, I think they are just plain tired; physically weary. And the ass-umptions that after a certain age folks are brain-dead is absurd.
The most profound educational tool is experience, and older folks have a huge amount more experience than most of us, regardless our education. You know, Logic 1A-1B... Problem solving. And, yes... reading and writing as well.
All the Ticky Tacky Techie Toys today, in my opinion and observation of my own mom who avoids them, are retrogressing human beings who don't give those gray cells any exercise. My mom uses her brain daily.
And you know that truism, surely. Use it or Lose it.
I think it's a perfect way for all those people who claim to be in fine shape to face the facts.
I am a 40 lb overweight 66 year old with arthritis in my back and some pretty severe broken bones over the years. I only need 1 hand or 1 knee to get up and down. Thats great, but I cannot figure out the technique for getting up without touching a hand or a knee to the ground, regardless of my weight and condition. Am I supposed to bounce up ? I don't think I could get up without touching ground at any age or weight.
OK, now I have challenged myself ! I am going to lose weight and work on this until I can do it easily. Hope it does not take me 6 years ! I can get down without touching but it is not very graceful, getting up, well I am just too fat. Going to drop some weight !
Mm I'd say 40lbs is under weight for a 66yo.
Hey MM - from a sitting position, you just lean your body forward and push up with just your legs. No hands or knees needed. I just did it like 5 times and I'm over 40
I'm 61 and very limber.I can sit down but have never been able to rise up from the floor with using my hands or arms.This b.s. study of not being able to do so that a person will not be alive is hilarious.I'll tell that to my aunt that's 94(always was overweight),my aunt that's 92(former smoker and drinker)and my i87 year old mother.
I'm a reasonably fit, not obese middle-aged female, and have worked out most of my life. This is almost impossible. You're going to need to use at least one hand to get up. Plus, what sitting position do you start from? Some are easier to get up from than others. At my physical the other day, my PC told me I should live to 85-90 years. So not so sure I buy this.
Linda, cross your ankles and then sit down. Then when you are sitting put your knees almost together and have your ankles about a foot apart. Then stand up. You should be able to sit and stand without putting any other body parts on the ground.
From the standing position, you put one foot behind the other and just sit down into the cross-legged position. Standing up from the cross-legged position, you simply lean forward a bit and push up with your crossed legs. I'm male, 60, 5-8, and weigh 157 now (have weighed as much as 185 in my mid-forties) and been doing this all my life and still do it that way. The article is not "bull@!$%#".
It seems to me that this would be a good general tool for most people to use to gauge their health--I'm going to have to wait until my sore knees get better though--it puts too much on my knees trying to sit down. Their soreness was worsened yesterday after getting on my hands and knees to weed in my garden and I even used a kneeling pad :(
Oh my--the above #4.3 I thought I had posted as a separate comment--oh well.
Linda, I think JFL and NotSuprised gave good advice, and when my knees get better, I'm going to try them. It appears the study was a good one, but probably does not account for some variables that will occur in the general human population. Still, it can be one of the tools in a physician's tool box to assess patient condition.
I'm not in the best shape of my life and I can do it.
It's not almost impossible; I'm almost 60 and can get up and down off the floor with my arms folded over my head, and my feet in several different positions- easily. I tried it several times to see what muscle groups are most important for this exercise, but what I find is: my feet have to be positioned pretty close to my buttocks so my upper body can lean past my feet. Were I a)not flexible enough to get my feet that close to my butt or b) too big-bellied to lean that far forward, I couldn't do it.
Makes sense because flexibility has been tied to flexible blood vessels in other studies, and an apple shape has been linked with cardiovascular diseases.
Im 21 and suck at this. Guess I might as well end it now...
I was able to rise from a cross legged position, but not real steady. With knees together and feet about a foot apart, my center of gravity is way too far back to even get started. I walk about 3 miles a day, and am in reasonable shape, but this test is probably not very accurate. If you get the technique down, you could pass without being in great shape, because I could do it, and I think excercise is overrated.
I could do that easily when I was young but after blowing out my right knee and hip..........that is BS! I am a man in my 60's with a fit body...............you know opinions are like what.............????
The researcher's mouth ain't a prayer book even if it does open and shut! LOL
I'm not buying into this! Because you can't spring up without use of hands as a help then I should have been dead 20 years ago!
Not a fan of reading for content, are ya?
I can do it and I'm being treated for Lyme Disease!!!! Hope I don't get hit by a bus.
I could do that...but it hurts! I'll use my hands and knees to get up, it's easier!
Exactly what I was thinking, Al. I wondered if participants had been asked to get up without using their hands. If I was asked to get up off of the floor, I'd put one hand down for stability. But if I was asked to get up without using my hands, I could do it. Just wouldn't be my first choice.
Maybe deal with the pain, since it is a one time event and your doctor is using it to evaluate your health?
Just a thought...
What about arthritis? I know quite a few people that are in their 80's and a few in their 90's who are in excellent health except for arthritis, which they have had for many years.
What about it?
This isn't a law of medicine carved in stone, it's an indication. Obviously there are going to be other factors affecting certain people.
Spybear--I think it would probably depend on how much the person's activity level was affected. If someone with arthritis can still do physical things like walking, then that person will be in better overall condition and so will their health. But if a person has crippling arthritis, then definitely the inability to get exercise would affect their longevity.
-god has made a good point, BTW--indicators are not carved in stone.
My wife can get down to her knees just fine...and from there I have no problem with my "longevity"...
TMI, dude...
If you're over 75, congratulations.
I guffawed at this one--briefly woke my hubby up--I'll have to show it to him when he finally wakes up!
If you're over 9", congratulations.
"Likely to die" and "definately going to die" are two different things, backtobasics. They look at statistics - x% of people who need both hands and knees to get onto and off the floor will die within 6 years, thus if you need this level of support to get onto and off the floor, you are likely to die within 6 years. Doesn't mean you have to start planning your funeral, and it doesn't mean that if you don't need any support to pass the test that you'll be alive in 6 years. It just means that the odds are against you, usually for reasons that pretty obviously impact your health and long-term prospects.
twinkies are gone, so i will have to double up on the pork chops!!
AND PASS THE GRAVY!!!!!
In related news, a recent study found that people who are able to stand up without using their arms or legs are 6 times more likely to be vampires.
ROFL
Only on the left. So, if you can put your socks and shoes on without sitting down or leaning does that make you a werewolf ?
Junk science rides again. Junk science is very popular with the media. It is second in popularity only to misreporting actual science. If you want to read about interesting science that is real and done well, don't rely on the media. The article even says that doctors use the "chair test" to determine "leg strength and lower body fitness", not longevity. This new version has been turned into a predictor of longevity--i.e., junk science. Junk science has a purpose. It is intended to catch your eye nd entertain, but anyone who takes it seriously is defrauding himself or herself. I understand Linda Carroll, according to her bio, is a "respected health writer" (or so says one of her publishers). I hope that respect isn't based on her ability to report junk science.
True. The only real sources of science are jungle drums, often referred to as "The Witch Doctor Network" or the stars, which have to be interpreted by a high priestess.
If you read or hear about it anywhere else, it's just "junk science".
Not sure what you meant. The news media is not the place to go for science information. For the general public, TED talks contain great information on science and they can be extraordinarily interesting. Carol Porcini's talk about the Cassini mission to Saturn was stunning. Mina Bissel's TED talk on breast cancer was likewise fascinating. There are doctors, scientists, and others giving fascinating lectures on what they do in a multitude of places. Maybe, when I used the term "the media", I should have been clearer and written "the mainstream news media", but I figured folks could get that without being so explicit.
I can go to YouTube and watch lectures and discussions by Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking and a host of others. The mainstream media is horrible at science reporting. Not to mention, they waste valuable space like this page on junk science like "standing up this way means you live longer".
I tend to be a gadfly where the media is concerned. So much of its science reporting is junk reporting or about junk science. But I have an agenda when I criticize the mainstream media: I want to drive people to better sources, sources that will expand their minds and understanding. I want to share my love of science and exploration. This is a great world filled with extraordinary things, things that seem magical (if I believed in magic). I would love it if mainstream media health and science writers reported sciende well and talked about the really important discoveries instead of filling their pages with junk science.
Unfortunately, most people here can't seem to construct a simple sentence, let alone understand one. And all you have to do is read the comments about vaccines, climate change. possible pandemics, etc. to realize that most people will never truly try to educate themselves.
Of course there are better sources of science reporting out there, but you'll never get the average person to actively look for them. The best you can hope for is for them to stumble on an article here or there that has something interesting enough for them to read the first few paragraphs.
Anyone truly interested in science will find information according to their interests and someone who isn't interested enough to look for info might read this article and realize that, at 50, they can't stand up, and it might get them to seek medical help.
This IS the place to go for information, for most people. And judging by these comments, even a simple article like this is beyond understanding for a lot of them.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I don't see how that affects anything I've written. My agenda, pointing out the weakness of media science reporting and offering better alternatives, sites that provide great information and present it well, is unchanged and, I think, worthwhile and correct.
I disagree with the notion that people won't go to better sources if someone offers better sources.
If, at 50, you can't stand up, you already know something is wrong. If you don't, you're probably not reading articles on health anyway.
I suppose what I'm saying is, it's not a good idea to discourage anyone from reading these articles. Besides, your blanket statement "The news media is not the place to go for science information." also includes publications like "Nature", "Smithsonian"', New Scientist"' etc. They're part of the news media.
That's being kind of elitist, concerning who you're talking to. If this were a high school or college class you'd have a point, but the next time some ignoramus reads an article here about climate change he might remember your comment and the fact that you're reinforced his idea that it's all junk, it's only the liberal press, Big Pharma, etc.
Face it, this is as close as most people will ever get to reading about science.
- god
take a happy pill once in a while. you are such a downer!!
i will put you on my 'ignore' list of writers, that is how toxic i find you.
what a bleak world YOU live in. but rather than carping, try encouraging (a few) people once in a while. 'you catch more flies with honey..............'
- god
to say nothing of your pomposity!
Your HMO will now charge you $2,200 for the test. Do it at home and mail them check.
Hahahaha--no, do it at home and mail them the BILL! ;)
Scientist’s today announced people who stop breathing are likely to die, However this can be averted if the individual simply switches to a more reliable news source.
Jack - you NAILED it! Seems that 90% of the announced results of "studies" produce results like that!
I'm still waiting for the study that will tell us all how much money these wacko-quackos make for doing these so-called studies. I'm getting sick of reading "a new study found" every day of the week. I can tell you that if you have a hard time getting up off the floor you need to do one thing - find some activity that you enjoy doing that will make you move faster and get your heart rate up, then keep doing it. Please send your checks to me for this info asap:
twodogsloving
123 Bullseye St
Quackenbush, NJ
... from falls sustained while trying to get up without using their hands.
ROFLMAO!!
(...and now I am out of breath and need both hands and knees to get up...)
Hahahahahahaha!
What about people who have had knee replacements?? It's hard to get up off the floor when your replaced knees aren't as good as your natural ones.
What about people who don't have legs?? It's hard to get up off the floor when you don't have a leg to stand on!
They're going to die. The article was quite clear on that, there are no exceptions for any reason. (sigh!)
-god,
Sigh, and you are quite aware that a news article of this type is only going to present summary information on the findings and enough background information for the average reader to get a simplified understanding of the study. The full blown report will include all sorts of background information on the cohort including ages of all particpants, their gender, underlying health issues, etc including what factors (such as knee replacements) might have disqualified individuals from participating. If you have ever read medical studies you know the types of background information that is provided on the study participants to try and identify factors other than those being studied that migh affect the conclusions and control for them. We do not have that information to be able to evaluate the validity of the study so can only take the report at face value.
Mikey, if you weren't so anal you'd have recognized the sarcasm.
Hey -god, I think you forgot to endow Mikey with common sense!
Hey boom- I know you're being a wise guy (and a funny one at that) but actually, new amputees are generally taught how to get up off the floor before they're discharged home. However, they do get to cheat and use their hands!
They'll definitely die within 6 years then.
Let's see--I broke my hip this summer. I have pins and plates in one leg. The other leg was damaged when I jumped in front of the locomotive to save the puppy on the tracks. One shoulder is whacked out from another old injury, and the other foot, well it's all there, barely.
I've had a hard life. Nothing's been easy. I've worked myself to a frazzle. And I continue to do so. I'll probably live to be in my 90s. My genetic background predicts old age for the women in our family. Many have reached well into their 90s, too. They worked hard, too, and many were worse for the wear.
Genes are the predictors of old age, not whether you can get off the floor without using your other body parts. Maintaining diet and a healthy lifestyle are good things, but they aren't absolutely necessary. If you have a predilection to old age, you'll probably attain it. Many of my elderly relatives have alcohol abuse issues, they smoke, and they run the bars. They're almost 90, and are still going strong. And yes, I've seen them crawl up off the bar floors using their hands, elbows and whatever to get back on their stools.
I don't do the bar scene, but with my luck, I'll probably get run over by a drunk driver. But it has nothing to do with how I get off the floor.
BREAKING NEWS! - People in good health live longer!
Exactly! No matter what movement daily life requires of us, those better able to function are more likely to be in better shape overall. File this one under "DUH!"
I'm dead....but I've known it was coming for the last 40-50 years. Oh yeah, you're dead too. That's the one sure thing about life...nobody gets out alive.
Some really funny comments here! I woke my hubby up laughing:)
This appears to be a good general indicator, just remember that there can be variables that would preclude the results in some cases.
Where's my pistol, dammit? As soon as someone gets me up off this floor, I'll try to remember where I put it.
Well, I tried to take the test, but when I got down on the floor my German Shepherd and Rottweiler thought it was a game... after playing with them it took all arms and legs to crawl back up.
Hahahaha--My hubby and I have a German Shepherd whom we adopted from a shelter when he was--as they estimated--between 1 and 2 years old. They were calling him 'Ben'. So we kept the name, but expanded it to 'Gentle Ben'. Within a week, we expanded it yet again--to 'Gentle Ben-jamin Chewbacca Mayhem!' He has turned out to be a wonderful dog.:)
My daughter has a Rottweiler/Mastiff mix, who is also very funny! And Big!
I am dead.
No point in trying to get up off the floor then.
Five years ago, I lived in Puerto Rico and worked for a construction company there. I could spring on my butt from a cross-legged position on the floor and push off to standing with just the sides of my feet. I never got heartburn or felt like my chest was going to burst when I woke up in the morning, I could outrun my youngest daughter, who was 13, every picture taken of me had a smile on it. When I finished my second degree, I decided to move myself and my family to Augusta, Georgia after a career opportunity. Five years later, I can't recall when I last got a morning erection, or when I was happy for 7 straight days, or when I felt like dancing. Now I have to crawl to the nearest piece of furniture to get off the floor and I have to lie down after a careful dinner to avoid gastro pain and shortness of breath. This article has been an eye opener for me. Living in a place that is emotionally and physically toxic for you is worth no amount of cash, it's better to be poor and happy, than to make a king's ransom, pay half of it to usurers and tax men and have no peace or health. Now I understand why they call this region the Stroke Belt. As a contractor in the Caribbean, I visited poor countries and territories where the people glowed, they were easy to befriend and they had God in their hearts without going to a fancy church to be critical of each other on Sundays or to eat overcooked spaghetti on Wednesdays. They ate simple, untampered food that was absolutely good for them.
I will try to outlive that six year forecast, perhaps if I can manage dual citizenship in the Dominican Republic or Curazao, I will get to survive past 61.
Hi JOMO--I responded to your post, but it appeared as #26....
do you qualify for medical marijuana if you can't do it?
I just called my doctor and asked for an appointment. I explained that a new health study reports that if both of us sit on the floor and neither of us can stand without touching the floor with our hands or knees, he has to give me a medical marijuana script, and if the daily doze is high enough, I will not bother him again. We'll see if this works.
hahaha the daily 'doze' is such a Great pun!! love it.
Help! I've fallen down and I can't reach my beer!