Controlled trial of weight bearing exercise in older women in relation to bone density and falls

Studies of the effects of different exercise programmes on bone in postmenopausal women have produced different conclusions, but few have targeted elderly women specifically.1 We report a controlled trial of weight bearing exercise in this clinically important population. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. We recruited volunteers by advertising in the local press. After excluding subjects with conditions or drug treatment likely to affect bone, we randomly allocated 118 volunteers (mean age 64.5 (range 60-73) years) to either a group taking calcium supplementation (1000 mg calcium daily, as calcium carbonate) or to an exercise group taking the same calcium supplementation. We monitored compliance with calcium by a tablet count every six months. We asked volunteers in the calcium group taking exercise to attend the University of Dundee's exercise class for people aged over 60 three times weekly for each of three 10 …