Here’s a simple test you can try at home. Sit in an armchair and then stand up without using your arms to help you. Can you do it? If the answer’s yes, it’s good news. Leg strength not only determines your quality of life, it may also determine how long you live.
Evidence suggests that from middle-age onwards there is a rapid decline in muscle strength among men and, especially, women in the UK. More than half of women aged 55 or above and around a third of men aged 65 or above find difficulty getting up from a chair unaided. The same people find climbing upstairs without using the handrail a problem. If your legs are weak you can’t manage these ordinary activities of daily living or enjoy normal recreational activities with family and friends. The findings are significant because they suggest an alarming level of frailty in a relatively young group of people (after all people in their 50s and 60s are not old!). Ultimately, it is only the strength of your legs which allows you to live an independent life.
Of even more significance, however, is the fact that according to recent studies, those who can perform simply daily tasks such as gripping, walking and rising from a chair are more likely to live longer. In fact those who are able to rise from a chair without help have a 50% lower risk of dying over a given period compared with those who find this task difficult.
The explanation for these observations is fairly obvious. Weak leg muscles are a reflection of a generally sedentary lifestyle and those who are physically inactive are well known to suffer more heart and other problems than physically active people. In addition, without adequate leg strength and power you have a greater tendency to lose your balance, so a stumble too easily becomes a heavy fall. Being overweight makes the situation worse because the heavier your body weight, the more strength you need to lift it.
If you find difficulty in rising from a chair unaided, you can easily do something about it. Just practice rising from the chair as normal, but over a few weeks gradually reduce the contribution from your arms. Once you have stronger legs, you can start to walk further and more often. The good news is that leg muscles are among the fastest in the body to respond to training, so you may see results in as little as ten days.
Dr David Ashton
1st February 2011
