Now, scientists say that ability to sit and rise from the floor is closely correlated with all-cause mortality risk.

This test of musculo-skeletal fitness is a "strong predictor" of mortality among middle-aged and senior citizens.

This was found in a study of more than 2,000 middle-aged and older men and women performed in Brazil and announced by European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention on Thursday.

During the study period, 159 subjects died, indicating a mortality rate of 7.9%.

The majority of these deaths occurred in people with low test scores indeed, only two of the deaths were in subjects, who had gained a composite score of 10.

Analysis found that survival in each of the four categories differed with high statistical significance.

Subjects, who failed to get up without holding onto something had a five-six times higher risk of death than those in the reference group, who could perform the task. However, in this study a composite score below 8 (i.e. requiring more than one hand or knee support to sit and rise from the floor in a stable way) were associated with a two-fold higher death rate over the 6.3-year study period.

Dr Claudio Gil Araujo from an exercise medicine clinic said, "A high score in the sitting-rising test might reflect the capacity to successfully perform a wide range of activities of daily living, such as bending over to pick up a newspaper or a pair of glasses from under a table."

"Even more relevant," reported the investigators, "is the fact that a one-point increment in the sitting-rising score was related to a 21% reduction in mortality."

Dr Araujo said, "It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and co-ordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favourable influence on life expectancy."

"When compared to other approaches to functional testing," said Dr Araujo, adding, "the sitting-rising test does not require specific equipment and is safe, easy to apply in a short time period (less than 2 minutes), and reliably scored. In our clinical practice, the test has been shown over the past 10 years to be useful and practical for application to a large spectrum of populations, ranging from pediatric to geriatric."

The assessment was performed in 2,002 adults of both sexes and with ages ranging between 51 and 80 years. The subjects were followed-up from the date of the baseline test until the date of death or 31 October 2011, a median follow-up of 6.3 years.

Before starting the test, they were told: "Without worrying about the speed of movement, try to sit and then to rise from the floor, using the minimum support that you believe is needed."

Dr Araujo emphasized the great potential of the sitting-rising test among primary care physicians looking for a quick appraisal of musculo-skeletal fitness in clinical or industrial settings. "If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using just one hand or even better without the help of a hand they are not only in the higher quartile of musculo-skeletal fitness but their survival prognosis is probably better than that of those unable to do so."