Phisical activity in the elderly : importance in balance and risk of falls

Abstract

Maintaining physical exercise in the elderly is fundamental, as it strengthens physical fitness, increases autonomy, reduces imbalance and reduces risk of falls. Thus, it is important to identify the risk of falls in the elderly and to determine correlations between this risk, sedentarism/ physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI). It is a cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational and quantitative study. A non-probabilistic sample consisted of 124 elderly individuals, 68 females and 56 males, aged 65-88 years (M = 71.9; Dp = 5.05). The data collection instrument included questions of sociodemographic characterization, health profile and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The results show that only 12.9% of the elderly present levels of recommended physical activity. The risk of falls is high to 13.8%, of the elderly, medium to 55.6% and low risk to 30.6%. The risk of falls is higher in older people (p = 0.000), those with higher BMI (p = 0.023), and less physical activity (p = 0.000). There were no statistically significant differences between men and women (p = 0.668). Evidence shows that an increase in PA and maintenance of BMI within normal values translates into lower levels of imbalance and risk of falling in the elderly. Thus raising the awareness of the elderly and caregivers about these factors should be a strategy to develop, in order to provide an active and healthy aging.