US Older Adults' Participation in Balance Activities

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, second edition recommends that older adults do multicomponent physical activity, which includes balance training in addition to aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. The authors estimated the prevalence of U.S. older adults (age >_65 years) who do balance activities and meet the aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines. The authors analyzed data on 1,012 respondents to the 2019 FallStyles survey, a nationwide web-based panel survey. Approximately four in 10 respondents (40.7%) reported doing balance activities on >_1 day/week, 34.0% on >_2 days/ week, and 25.3% on >_3 days/week. Prevalence differed by sex, education level, income level, census region, body mass index category, and meeting the aerobic and/or muscle-strengthening guidelines. The combined prevalence of participation in balance activities and meeting aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines ranged from 12.0% for >_3 days/week to 15.8% for >_1 day/ week. Opportunities exist to introduce and increase participation in balance and multicomponent activities by older adults.