Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The association of moderate-to-vigorous and light-intensity physical activity on static balance in middle-aged and older-aged adults

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Falls are the leading cause of injury among adults ≥ 65 years of age. Participation in physical activity (PA) is associated with improved balance, though it is impact in the middle-age population is not well understood.

Aim

The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of PA intensity on static balance in middle-aged and older aged individuals.

Methods

Included were middle-aged adults (40–64 years) and older adults (≥ 65 years) from the 2003–2004 years of the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey. Light physical activity (LPA) and moderate–vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were collected via accelerometer and static balance via the Romberg Test of Standing Balance.

Results

No significant odds ratio relationship was found between MVPA or LPA and having good static balance in the middle-aged population; 1.04 (95% CI 0.95, 1.13) p = 0.427 and 1.05 (95% CI 0.97, 1.14) p = 0.182, respectively. Whereas, in older adults, every 60-min increase in LPA was significantly associated with 28% higher odds of good balance (95% CI 1.15, 1.41; p < 0.001), and every 10-min increase in MVPA with 25% higher odds of good balance (95% CI 1.08, 1.45; p = 0.006).

Discussion

LPA and MVPA were not associated with good static balance in middle-aged adults, but in older adults LPA was significantly associated with good static balance.

Conclusion

A significant relationship is found between age and fall risk, which is a major concern in the aging population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm.

References

  1. Verma SK, Willetts JL, Corns HL et al (2016) Falls and fall-related injuries among community-dwelling adults in the United States. PLoS ONE 11:e0150939. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150939

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Bergen G, Stevens MR, Burns ER (2016) Falls and fall injuries among adults aged ≥65 years - United States, 2014. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (MMWR) 65:993–998. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6537a2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Talbot LA, Musiol RJ, Witham EK et al (2005) Falls in young, middle-aged and older community dwelling adults: perceived cause, environmental factors and injury. BMC Public Health 5:86. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-5-86

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Della Santina CC et al (2009) Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults: data from the national health and nutrition examination survey, 2001–2004. Arch Intern Med 169:938–944. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2009.66

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Hoffman HJ et al (2011) The modified Romberg balance test: normative data in US adults. Otol Neurotol 32:1309–1311. https://doi.org/10.1097/MAO.0b013e31822e5bee

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Koo J-W, Chang MY, Woo S-Y et al (2015) Prevalence of vestibular dysfunction and associated factors in South Korea. BMJ Open 5:e008224. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008224

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Perera T, Tan JL, Cole MH et al (2018) Balance control systems in Parkinson’s disease and the impact of pedunculopontine area stimulation. Brain 141:3009–3022. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awy216

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Moncada LVV, Mire LG (2017) Preventing falls in older persons. Am Fam Physician 96:240–247

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Dunleavy K, Lulofs-MacPherson K, Slowik AK (2019) 3—Relationship between impairments and function. In: Dunleavy K, Slowik AK (eds) Therapeutic exercise prescription. Elsevier, St. Louis, pp 60–81

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Melo RS, Marinho SES, Freire MEA et al (2017) Static and dynamic balance of children and adolescents with sensorineural hearing loss. Einstein (São Paulo) 15:262–268. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-45082017AO3976

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Rogers ME, Page P, Takeshima N (2013) Balance training for the older athlete. Int J Sports Phys Ther 8:517–530

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Takeshima N, Islam MM, Rogers ME et al (2014) Pattern of age-associated decline of static and dynamic balance in community-dwelling older women. Geriatr Gerontol Int 14:556–560. https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.12132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Fujita E, Takeshima N, Hasegawa T et al (2015) Comparison of static and dynamic balance in healthy but untrained versus frail community-dwelling older adults. Phys Med Rehabil Int 2:1046

    Google Scholar 

  14. Monteiro AM, Forte P, Carvalho J et al (2021) Relationship between fear of falling and balance factors in healthy elderly women: a confirmatory analysis. J Women Aging 33:57–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2019.1681244

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kuptniratsaikul V, Praditsuwan R, Assantachai P et al (2011) Effectiveness of simple balancing training program in elderly patients with history of frequent falls. Clin Interv Aging 6:111–117. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S17851

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Lesinski M, Hortobágyi T, Muehlbauer T et al (2015) Dose–response relationships of balance training in healthy young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 45:557–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0284-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Patti A, Zangla D, Sahin FN et al (2021) Physical exercise and prevention of falls. Effects of a Pilates training method compared with a general physical activity program: a randomized controlled trial. Medicine (Baltimore) 100:e25289. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000025289

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Loprinzi PD, Brosky JA Jr (2014) Objectively measured physical activity and balance among US adults. J Strength Condition Res 28:2290–2296. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Pau M, Leban B, Collu G et al (2014) Effect of light and vigorous physical activity on balance and gait of older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 59:568–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2014.07.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Bulbulian R, Hargan ML (2000) The effect of activity history and current activity on static and dynamic postural balance in older adults. Physiol Behav 70:319–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9384(00)00272-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Bermúdez-Rey MC, Clark TK, Merfeld DM (2017) Balance screening of vestibular function in subjects aged 4 years and older: a living laboratory experience. Front Neurol 8:631. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2017.00631

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Blodgett J, Theou O, Kirkland S et al (2015) The association between sedentary behaviour, moderate-vigorous physical activity and frailty in NHANES cohorts. Maturitas 80:187–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.11.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Dogra S, Stathokostas L (2012) Sedentary behavior and physical activity are independent predictors of successful aging in middle-aged and older adults. J Aging Res 2012:190654. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/190654

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1999–2000) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Questionnaire, Examination Protocol, (NCHS) NCfHS (ed). Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hayattsville, MD; U.S. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/continuousnhanes/manuals.aspx?BeginYear=1999

  25. Khasnis A, Gokula RM (2003) Romberg’s test. J Postgrad Med 49:169–172

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Shu Y, Chen X, He W (2020) Biomechanical analysis of dynamic and static balance with different arm position. In: 38th International society of biomechanics in sport conference, vol 38, p 676. https://commons.nmu.edu/isbs/vol38/iss1/171

  27. Crouter SE, DellaValle DM, Haas JD et al (2013) Validity of ActiGraph 2-regression model, Matthews cut-points, and NHANES cut-points for assessing free-living physical activity. J Phys Act Health 10:504–514. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.10.4.504

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Examination Data Overview: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–2004). https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/continuousnhanes/overviewexam.aspx?BeginYear=2003. Accessed 11 Jan 2020

  29. Boyer WR, Wolff-Hughes DL, Bassett DR et al (2016) Accelerometer-derived total activity counts, bouted minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, and insulin resistance: NHANES 2003–2006. Prev Chronic Dis 13:E146. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.160159

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Wolff-Hughes DL, Fitzhugh EC, Bassett DR et al (2015) Waist-Worn actigraphy: population-referenced percentiles for total activity counts in U.S. adults. J Phys Activity Health 12:447–453. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Van Domelen DR (2020) Web app for processing NHANES accelerometer data. https://jhubiostatistics.shinyapps.io/process_nhanes_app/ (n.d.). Accessed April 2021

  32. Johnson CL, Paulose-Ram R, Ogden CL et al (2013) National health and nutrition examination survey: analytic guidelines, 1999–2010. Vital Health Stat 2:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  33. IBM (2020) How do I do an independent-samples t test or an ANOVA model in SPSS Statistics Complex Samples? https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/how-do-i-do-independent-samples-t-test-or-anova-model-spss-statistics-complex-samples. Accessed 1 Jan 2021

  34. Reynolds LJ, Twiddy HM, Mlynarczyk M et al (2021) The association of physical activity on homocysteine in pregnant women. J Maternal Fet Neonat Med 35:7073–7080. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2021.1941855

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. White DK, Gabriel KP, Kim Y et al (2015) Do short spurts of physical activity benefit cardiovascular health? The CARDIA study. Med Sci Sports Exerc 47:2353–2358. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000662

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Physical Activity Guideliens Advisory Commitee (2018) 2018 Physical activity guidelines advisory committee scientific report. US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  37. Evenson KR, Buchner DM, Morland KB (2012) Objective measurement of physical activity and sedentary behavior among US adults aged 60 years or older. Prev Chronic Dis 9:E26

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Liaw M-Y, Chen C-L, Pei Y-C et al (2009) Comparison of the static and dynamic balance performance in young, middle-aged, and elderly healthy people. Chang Gung Med J 32:297–304

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Hong SK, Park JH, Kwon SY et al (2015) Clinical efficacy of the Romberg test using a foam pad to identify balance problems: a comparative study with the sensory organization test. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 272:2741–2747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3273-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Lohne-Seiler H, Kolle E, Anderssen SA et al (2016) Musculoskeletal fitness and balance in older individuals (65–85 years) and its association with steps per day: a cross sectional study. BMC Geriatr 16:6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-016-0188-3

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Mitchell RJ, Lord SR, Harvey LA et al (2014) Associations between obesity and overweight and fall risk, health status and quality of life in older people. Aust N Z J Public Health 38:13–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12152

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Cho B-Y, Seo D-C, Lin H-C et al (2018) BMI and central obesity with falls among community-dwelling older adults. Am J Prev Med 54:e59–e66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.12.020

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Dutil M, Handrigan GA, Corbeil P et al (2013) The impact of obesity on balance control in community-dwelling older women. Age 35:883–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-012-9386-x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Gouveia ÉR, Ihle A, Gouveia BR et al (2020) Muscle mass and muscle strength relationships to balance: the role of age and physical activity. J Aging Phys Act 28:262–268. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2018-0113

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Miller SL, Wolfe RR (2008) The danger of weight loss in the elderly. J Nutr Health Aging 12:487–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02982710

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. John D, Tyo B, Bassett DR (2010) Comparison of four ActiGraph accelerometers during walking and running. Med Sci Sports Exerc 42:368–374. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181b3af49

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Lee K-Y, Macfarlane DJ, Cerin E (2013) Comparison of three models of actigraph accelerometers during free living and controlled laboratory conditions. Eur J Sport Sci 13:332–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2011.643925

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Corder K, Brage S, Ramachandran A et al (2007) Comparison of two Actigraph models for assessing free-living physical activity in Indian adolescents. J Sports Sci 25:1607–1611. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410701283841

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Rothney MP, Apker GA, Song Y et al (2008) Comparing the performance of three generations of ActiGraph accelerometers. J Appl Physiol (1985) 105:1091–1097. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.90641.2008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Kozey SL, Staudenmayer JW, Troiano RP et al (2010) Comparison of the ActiGraph 7164 and the ActiGraph GT1M during self-paced locomotion. Med Sci Sports Exerc 42:971–976. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c29e90

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Ried-Larsen M, Brønd JC, Brage S et al (2012) Mechanical and free living comparisons of four generations of the Actigraph activity monitor. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 9:113. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-113

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Guediri A, Robin L, Lacroix J et al (2021) Comparison of energy expenditure assessed using wrist- and hip-worn ActiGraph GT3X in free-living conditions in young and older adults. Front Med (Lausanne) 8:696968. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.696968

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Lin Q, Zheng Y, Lian P et al (2020) Quantitative static and dynamic assessment of balance control in stroke patients. J Vis Exp. https://doi.org/10.3791/60884

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Papalia GF, Papalia R, Diaz Balzani LA et al (2020) The effects of physical exercise on balance and prevention of falls in older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Med 9:2595. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9082595

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Movement Sciences, Old Dominion University, Student Recreation Center 1006C, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Hannah M. Twiddy, Patrick B. Wilson, David P. Swain, J. David Branch & Leryn J. Reynolds

  2. Wellness Institute and Research Center, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Hannah M. Twiddy & Leryn J. Reynolds

  3. Human Performance Laboratory, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Patrick B. Wilson

  4. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Steven Morrison

Authors
  1. Hannah M. Twiddy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patrick B. Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David P. Swain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. David Branch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Steven Morrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Leryn J. Reynolds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by HMT, PBW, and LJR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by HMT and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leryn J. Reynolds.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest statement.

Ethics approval

Protocols were approved by the National Center for Health Statistics research ethics board. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and the research adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki. The Darden College of Education and Professional Studies Human Subjects Research Committee at Old Dominion University determined that this study was exempt from full review by the Institutional Review Board.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Twiddy, H.M., Wilson, P.B., Swain, D.P. et al. The association of moderate-to-vigorous and light-intensity physical activity on static balance in middle-aged and older-aged adults. Aging Clin Exp Res 35, 541–550 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-023-02344-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-023-02344-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation