I heard this on the news today and then found it all over the media – for example here at the Telegraph
It seems that a 12-year research project has found that middle-aged and elderly people who cannot balance on one leg for 10 seconds are almost twice as likely to die within 10 years as those who can. I understand that on this occasion the risks are linked mainly but not exclusively to strokes. Given that the WHO found Tai Chi offered a 50% reduction in vulnerability to falls in older people then Tai Chi becomes a no-brainer – like my own “over 50’s” classes.
This bonafide international research covered 1,702 people aged between 51 and 75 between 2008 and 2020. Given that Tai Chi is already well recognised as helping to aid balance at all ages it must be good news for long-term practitioners. People do have trouble in doing things just because it is good for us, however – so it is great that Tai Chi is also good fun and a pleasant social activity – for example, my own classes in the Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth.
The original piece was published in the British Journal of Sports medicine
