Conversely, the study suggests that your ability to balance on one foot points to longer life expectancy.

The peer-reviewed study conducted by Brazilian researchers, published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, determined that a person's balance ability can be preserved into the sixth decade of one's life – meaning it's more broad of an indicator of life expectancy across age ranges than aerobic fitness, flexibility or muscle strength. .

Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, the lead author of the study and a sports and exercise physician at the Exercise Medicine Clinic Clinimex in Rio de Janeiro, said poor balance is linked to frailty in older adults and one's musculoskeletal fitness is a prime indicator of declining health. .

...The advantages of the 10s OLS test include the fact that it is simple and it provides rapid, safe and objective feedback for the patient and health care providers regarding static balance.".