According to a study from Purdue University, young adults fall more frequently than expected, and most of the falls occur while they are walking and talking.
In the study, 94 undergraduate college students (average age: 19) completed a daily online survey regarding any slips, trips, or falls they experienced during the past 24 hours. The respondents completed the survey daily for 4 months, and the response rate was 93%.
Explains a media release from Purdue University, the data collected notes that each student, on average, experienced one slip or trip per week, but recovered their balance. In addition, 52% fell at least once, and 21% fell more than once. Among the falls, 16% resulted in injury, and 4% required medical treatment. Regarding location, one-third occurred indoors, and the fall rate was still high when winter conditions were excluded. In terms of other factors, falls were more frequent as the participants’ physical activity increased, and substance abuse was attributed to 9% of the falls.
“The most common multi-task associated with falling was talking to someone while walking,” says study author Shirley Rietdyk, a professor of health and kinesiology at Purdue University, in the release.
“Despite recent research showing an increase in injuries due to texting while walking, only 3% of falls resulted from texting while walking in this study. This is likely due to the fact that people texting are more likely to be injured from walking into or in front of things, which may not result in a fall,” she adds.
The study was published recently in Human Movement Science.
[Source(s): Purdue University, EurekAlert]
