Sources
Peer norm sources
All reference values used by the calculators are transcribed from the publications below.
Threshold (reserve) sources
| Test | Threshold used | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Grip strength | <27 kg men / <16 kg women = low | EWGSOP2 low muscle strength |
| 5× sit-to-stand | >15 s = low | EWGSOP2 low muscle strength |
| Usual gait speed | ≤0.8 m/s = low | EWGSOP2 low physical performance |
| Usual gait speed (second fixed line) | ≈1.07 m/s (3.5 ft/s) | Walking speed US traffic signals assume for a street crossing: MUTCD 11th ed. (2023), Section 4I.06, Paragraph 07 |
| Change over time (all tests) | Trend per year from 5 results over at least 9 months; "declining" or "improving" only when the trend is larger than your own scatter explains | Least-squares trend through your results under the same help and setup, tested against your own scatter (one-sided 1% at each retest). With quarterly tests, about 1 stable person in 20 sees a false "declining" within 3 years. Grip, gait and balance use the average of the three trials, which tracks change more steadily than the best trial. For gait, Perera 2006 puts a small meaningful change at about 0.05 m/s and a substantial one at about 0.10 m/s. |
| 30-s chair stand | Fixed line: 9 stands (the 90–94 standard, women and men). Second line, labeled "on track to stay independent at 90": women 15/15/14/13/12/11/9, men 17/16/15/14/13/11/9 (ages 60–64 … 90–94) | Rikli & Jones criterion standards; below 90 the paper says they reflect projected ability to remain independent at 90 |
| Single-leg stance | Unable to stand 5 s | Vellas 1997 predictor of injurious falls (age >60) |
| VO₂ max | ≈18 men / ≈15 women mL/kg/min | Paterson 1999 minimum compatible with independent living at age 85 |
Thresholds come from older or at-risk populations. For younger adults the margin is a long-range reference, not a near-term risk signal. The often-quoted 1.0 m/s gait-speed cut-off is not used because we did not verify it in a primary source; EWGSOP2's 0.8 m/s is used instead.
Not used / omitted
- Rikli & Jones peer norms (percentiles): not used; the peer percentile for the 30-s chair stand uses Warden 2022. (Their 2013 independence standards are used as the threshold, verified in the paper's Table 4.)
- Gait speed 1.0 m/s cut-off: not verified in a primary source, so not used.
- Single-leg stance eyes closed: available in Springer 2007 but not included in this first version.