Effects of a Pilates-Based Multicomponent Exercise Program on Fall-Risk-Related Physical Fitness and Psychological Variables in Older Adults at Lifelong Education Facilities

Background and Objectives: South Korea is experiencing rapid population aging, leading to elderly isolation, depression, and rising healthcare costs related to falls. Although exercise is recognized as a preventive measure, the short-term functional and psychological benefits of community-based programs, independent of structural change, remain poorly understood. Methods: This was a nonrandomized controlled pre-post study. Seventy adults aged 65 years or older attending lifelong education facilities entered the exercise or control group according to their willingness to participate in the exercise program (n = 35 per group). Two participants in each group withdrew after allocation, leaving 66 participants (n = 33 per group) in the supplied analysis dataset. The exercise group completed 60-min sessions of cardiorespiratory and resistance training three times weekly for eight weeks. Fall prevention fitness (flexibility, static balance, Timed Up and Go (TUG), and handgrip strength), body composition (weight, waist circumference, and basal metabolic rate), and psychological variables (subjective pain (visual analog scale (VAS)), fear of falling, and life satisfaction) were measured before and after the intervention and analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: Significant group × time interaction effects were observed for flexibility and static balance (both p < 0.001), together with reductions in subjective pain and fear of falling and an increase in life satisfaction (all p < 0.001). The interaction for the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test was also significant (F = 26.746, p < 0.001) and indicated a decrease in completion time in the exercise group (7.24 ± 0.48 to 7.02 ± 0.54 s) and an increase in the control group (7.42 ± 0.59 to 7.51 ± 0.59 s); the absolute changes were small. After baseline adjustment and Holm correction across the ten outcomes, only the pain and TUG differences remained significant (fear of falling and life satisfaction: both Holm-adjusted p = 0.963). No significant changes were found in body composition or handgrip strength. Conclusions: An 8-week Pilates-based multicomponent exercise program showed unadjusted improvements in functional and psychological outcomes. Baseline-adjusted differences in fear of falling and life satisfaction were not significant (p = 0.487 and p = 0.328). These findings suggest that selected measured outcomes may change over eight weeks, and that community-based exercise programs for older adults should include specific gait, turning, and lower-limb power components in addition to balance and flexibility training. Actual falls were not measured. The independently functioning, single-region sample limits generalization to frail or high-fall-risk populations.