Exercise with [resistance training](https://www.mcknights.com/news/report-weight-resistance-training-may-help-older-adults-tackle-insomnia/) can reverse frailty and stop it from getting worse, according to a report on existing studies and meta-analyses. The [report](https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-025-05768-1) was published Monday in _BMC Geriatrics_.
The review encompassed 18,768 community-dwelling adults who were over the age of 50. These participants were in 23 reviews (of them, six were deemed high-quality in terms of data) and 98 unique studies. The studies focused on people who had different frailty statuses, such as being pre-frail and frail. Studies were in different countries around the world, including North America.
Nonpharmacological intervention categories studied included exercise, health education, nutrition, telehealth and health education. The programs studied lasted anywhere from six weeks and 12 months in duration.
The people performed physical activity containing an aspect of resistance training for a minimum of twice per week. In 28 of the studies, resistance training was reversing frailty (though one randomised controlled trial showed that pre-frail adults who performed resistance didn’t see improvements). Nutritional interventions that were conducted alongside exercise with resistance training were effective at reversing or preventing frailty. Studies that only focused on nutritional interventions were inconclusive in terms of impacting frailty.
Two of the meta-analyses with high-quality data found that physical activity plus nutrition programs were the most effective at reversing and preventing frailty with resistance training ranked as the most effective physical activity type.
Overall, the team consistently found that physical activity with a resistance component needed to be done at least twice per week to see an effect on frailty status compared to not doing any exercise. The session lengths shown to be beneficial ranged from 26 to 90 minutes.
Frailty is a complex health condition that puts older adults at risk for adverse outcomes such as falls, hospitalizations and the need for long-term care.