Falls among older adults are a serious yet common situation, and are a major cause of the loss of the ability to live independently.

2195 older men and women, average age 77 years, who participated in exercise programs were compared with 2110 people who did not. It was found that that the subjects who exercised were about 37% less likely to be injured during the fall, as compared to non-exercisers. The exercise participants were 61% less likely to have broken bones after falls, and 43% less likely to experience a fall severe enough to warrant a hospital visit.

Exercise programmes designed to prevent falls in older adults also seem to prevent injuries caused by falls, including the most severe ones. Such programmes also reduce the rate of falls leading to medical care.

Comment: How much exercise is enough? Aim for 1 minute per day for every year that you are. If you are age 69 you need 69 minutes of exercise per day. This means that as you get older you need more exercise per day.