Mayhew et al. (CLSA)
About this reference
The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (CLSA) is a national research platform with over 50,000 participants. This study used data from the Comprehensive cohort (n=30,097) who completed in-person physical assessments. Participants stood without shoes, non-balancing foot raised to the calf, hands on hips, timed up to 60 seconds. Best leg was used. Percentiles were estimated using smoothed quantile regression, cross-validated with 100 repetitions on a 30% holdout sample.
Known limitations
- 60-second ceiling means the test cannot differentiate among high-performing individuals — most adults under 55 hit the cap
- Ages 45-85 only; no data for adults under 45
- 90% of participants identified as European — may not generalise to all ethnic backgrounds
- Canadian population — patterns may differ in countries with different obesity rates or activity levels