Stationary biking in older adults: encouraging results, unclear acceptability
A review described gains in fitness, cognition and mobility, but unclear acceptability reporting and missing effect sizes limit what readers can conclude.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review reported improvements in several physical and cognitive outcomes after stationary biking, and some randomized trials favored programs using virtual aids. However, the abstract gives no pooled effect sizes or consistent follow-up period. Its acceptability percentages are presented as fractions of studies, so they cannot be read as the proportion of participants who accepted biking.
The acceptance, retention and adherence percentages use study counts as denominators, leaving participant-level acceptability unclear. Intervention lengths, total participant numbers and pooled estimates are not given in the abstract.
What the review covered
Studies used stationary bikes for assessment or intervention, with neurological conditions the most common population focus. Outcomes included aerobic capacity, cycling efficiency, cognition, quality of life and mobility, across randomized and nonrandomized designs.
The virtual-aid comparisons
Among studies using virtual aids, randomized comparisons reported better cycling efficiency, cognition and executive function than programs without those aids. The abstract does not quantify those differences or describe how long they persisted.
The original publication
Acceptability and effectiveness of stationary bike intervention on health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review of intervention studies.
Akter T, Moneruzzaman M, Maduray K et al.
BMC Geriatr · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41530691
- Record checked
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