The Correlation Between Physical Activity and Balance in the Elderly
ISEF · 2023 Biomedical and Health Sciences
Overview
Poor balance in the elderly has caused many falls, serious injuries, and deaths over the years. To reduce the incidence of falls, a systematic assessment was done on the elderly population in Saint George, Utah to see if there was a correlation between good balance and physical activity. 30 participants were tested from three age ranges: 60-69, 70-79, and 80-89, evenly split from each gender. All participants were asked to complete The PASE (Physical Activity Scale in the Elderly) Survey and five tests from the Berg Balance Scale. Calculating scores from each participant and then analyzing data through a one-way ANOVA test comparing physical activity to balance, a p-score of 0.248 was found showing no statistical significance. Two separate one-way ANOVA tests were used to compare the age groups to their physical activity scores and then to their balance scores. Comparing the different age groups to physical activity scores resulted in a p-value of 0.023 showing there is statistical significance that as one gets older one participates in less physical activity. When age groups were compared to balance, a p-value of 0.086 resulted which is statistically significant at the 90th percentile. This shows that as one gets older in age, one’s balance naturally decreases. In conclusion, there was no evidence that physical activity improves balance in the elderly; however, there was evidence showing that as one gets older, one usually participates in less physical activity and naturally has worse balance.
Awards (2)
- Lawrence Technological University: STEM Scholar Award, a tuition scholarship of $19,650 per year, renewable for up to four years and applicable to any major $19,650
- University of Texas at Dallas: Scholarship of $5,000 per year, renewable for up to four years $5,000
Competition history
- ISEF 2023
Resources
Related projects
CSEF · 2011
Balance through the Ages
CSEF · 2011
Baby Boomers Bounce Back: The Impact of Practice on the Degenerative Effects of Aging
CSEF · 2019
Reducing the Incidence of Falls among the Elderly
ISEF · 2014
Evaluation of Balance Skills in Male Subjects Aged 6-7 Years
CSEF · 2014
Let's Wii-Hab: The Comparison of the Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Program to Traditional Balance Training
ISEF · 2018
Assessment of Fall Risk Associated with High-Heeled Footwear Utilizing Computerized Dynamic Posturography: A Two-Phase Study
CSEF · 2012
Do You Get a Buzz Out of Exercise? The Effect of Physical Activity and Exercise on Hand Steadiness
CSEF · 2017
Gray-Haired Gamers: The Effect of Video-Gaming on the Physical Coordination of the Aged
Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.
Browse more like this
Source: Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair