Pennington gets about $6M to study exercise, age

Associated Press - November 5, 2009 2:04 PM ET

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is getting about $6 million over the next two years to study whether a specific exercise program can stave off disability in older people.

The LSU campus and seven other universities each will enroll about 200 people who cannot walk a quarter of a mile.

Half will get education about healthy aging. The rest will get training in stretching, balance, leg exercises and walking.

The University of Florida's Institute on Aging in Gainesville is in charge of the $29.5 million program.

Researchers will evaluate whether it helps daily living activity and thinking, and avoids injuries from falls and of major walking disability. They will also assess the intervention's cost-effectiveness.