Standing on one leg could tell people a bit about their overall health — and, apparently, their age — according to new research from the Mayo Clinic.

A new study published Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the journal PLOS One found that how long someone can stand with one foot on the ground is a better measure of aging than changes in strength or gait (one’s walking pattern).

In the study, 40 healthy adults over the age of 50 – half of whom were over the age of 65 – took part in tests of walking, balance, grip strength and knee strength.

For their balance tests, they were tasked with maintaining balance under different circumstances while standing on force plates: on two legs with their eyes open and then closed, then on their non-dominant leg and also on their dominant leg, each with eyes open.

As the researchers found, according to the Mayo Clinic, how long someone maintained their balance while standing on the non-dominant leg showed “the greatest rate of decline with age.”

The research found that the length of time someone can stand on one leg decreased at a rate of 2.2 seconds per decade in the non-dominant leg, while doing the same at a rate of 1.7 seconds per decade in the dominant leg. This was true for both men and women, the study noted.

Lead author Kenton Kaufman said in a statement shared by Mayo Clinic that balance is an “important measure” given that it takes muscle strength into account and also “requires input from vision, the vestibular system, and the somatosensory systems.”

“The balance changes are worth noting,” he said. “If you have poor balance, you’re at risk of falling whether you’re moving or not. Falls represent a severe health risk with serious consequences.”

right National Institute on Agingfalls are the leading cause of injury in older adults, with one in four people over the age of 65 falling each year. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find that approximately 3 million older adults visit the emergency room annually due to falls, with 1 million hospitalized.

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Talking to CNNKaufman said good balance “provides the ability to perform activities” of daily life “without fear of falling.” This, he said, “leads to improved quality of life and healthy ageing.”

As he notes AARPa precedent study led by Duke Health researchers found that adults in their 30s and 40s could balance on one leg for about a minute, those in their 50s could for 45 seconds, and adults in their 70s years could do this for 26 seconds. As Kaufman told the press, those over 65 who can balance on one leg for 30 seconds would be doing pretty well, and that a cause for concern is “if you can’t balance for five seconds.”

He added that he stands on one leg at least once a week — a process others can do to train themselves to maintain proper balance. “A little bit of practice won’t hurt,” he told AARP. “It’s easy to do. It requires no special equipment and you can do it every day.”

Speaking to CNN, Dr. Anat Lubetzky, who was not involved in the study, said that single-leg balance cannot “solve all balance problems and fall risk” and that “all aspects of balance – static, dynamic and general” should be taken into account.