This simple 1-minute test could tell if you will die early

Want to assess your risk of early death? Doing a quick 1-minute test can uncover many hidden secrets about your health. The grip test has long been considered an easy and convenient way to find out muscle strength, brain health, disability and overall longevity, especially in elderly.
How you grip objects or squeeze them can give you a fair idea about where you stand when it comes to risk of dying from a range of age-related diseases - heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers.
When you try to get hold of an object, this movement requires strength from multiple muscles and joints of your arm. A weak grip strength could be a sign of muscle loss which could eventually result in loss of mobility, which could trigger a range of health conditions.
Ed Jones, a US nutritionist has said in a podcast that grip strength is an indicator of impending health issues and deterioration of health in future.

Jones suggests testing grip strength by holding a heavy weight or object for one minute, such as a dumbbell weighing three-quarters of your body weight. This could be 85 kg for men and 54kg for women.
However, one should be careful while lifting heavy objects considering it may cause back injuries. A man can safely lift 25kg, while for women, it comes around to 15kg, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
"If you can't hold a dumbbell that's 3/4ths of your weight for one minute, you will die earlier than you would if you were stronger," Jones told the Nutrition World Podcast.
The nutritionist said grip strength is even a better predictor of longevity compared to cholesterol levels.
"If you can do this with the right weights, everything else is stronger," he added. "The stronger and resilient body ages slower and has less disease."

Another grip strength test that you can try is hanging from a pull-up bar for as long as you can. While men should target 60 seconds, for women it shouldn't be less than 30 seconds.
A study published in BMJ says men who can sustain their grip on a pull-up bar only for 30 seconds, and women for 15 seconds have an increased risk of premature mortality.
Muscle strength, particularly handgrip strength, can speak volumes about your overall health and longevity.

According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, it is a common way to test simple muscle function and can indicate decline in physical function and biological aging.
Handgrip strength can reflect the strength of the whole body and is a simple and safe way to assess health issues in older individuals. Reduced handgrip strength could indicate falling health like declining cognitive wellness, disability, frailty, falls, hospitalization costs, and mortality.