Falls Prevention Physical Activity

[SMS Network Coordinator]

Following the presentation given by Nicola Kelly at the July SMS Network Meeting:

Information about physical activity guidelines for older adults after I came and spoke at your meeting. I have attached it.

Key Facts

1. Older adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits, including maintenance of good physical and cognitive function. Some physical activity is better than none, and more physical activity provides greater health benefits.
2. Older adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
3. For those who are already regularly active at moderate intensity, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.
4. Older adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
5. Older adults at risk of falls should incorporate physical activity to improve balance and co ordination on at least two days a week.
6. All older adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.


In Hampshire we have the Steady and Strong programme which allows people to train their strength and balance each week. A full list of all the sessions is available online www.hants.gov.uk/balance If there isn’t a session in your area but you would like one please let know and we can look to get something set up.
Kind regards
Nicola Kelly
Falls Prevention Physical Activity Co-ordinator
Wellbeing Team
Hampshire County Council,
Adult Services,
3rd Floor West,
EII Court,
The Castle,
Winchester,
SO23 8UQ
[e-mail] 
Tel: [phone]


There are Steady and Strong Falls Prevention exercise classes happening all over Hampshire. To find a local class visit www.hants.gov.uk/balance 

older-adults-65-years.pdf