The old axiom says you can tell a lot about a man by his handshake. After all, it’s been a traditional greeting, a sign of a sealed business deal, and the measure of someone’s character at various points since it came into being. Now, researchers say, a firm handshake might be a sign of a long life expectancy.
“These measures have been used in population-based research for quite a long time,” said Rachel Cooper of the Medical Research Council’s Unit for Lifelong Health and Aging in a study in the British Medical Journal. “They may be useful indicators for subsequent health. I wouldn’t suggest that we roll them out into clinical practice tomorrow, but it is possible that they could be used in the future.”
The measures include simple physical activities like walking, standing on one leg, getting up from a chair, and, of course, the handshake. The greater ease and more vigorous these simple physical activities, the longer someone is likely to live. Weaker handshakes had a 67 percent higher death rate; meanwhile, slower walkers were three times more likely to die and slow risers were twice as likely to die. Odds are the hand-shakers also have a better social life, which might help increase life expectancy, too.
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