Is there a relationship between obesity and balance between young, middle aged, and elderly adults ?

Is there a relationship between obesity and balance between young, middle aged, and elderly adults ?

Poor balance leads to falls, and falls costs the NHS approximately £2.3 billion per year (NICE 2019). It is known within healthcare that Physiotherapists can detect early difficulties with movement, strength and balance, and therefore help with the prevention of falls (CSP 2019). This being said, no articles were found on the CSP website relating obesity to poor balance, and therefore the link between the two is not seen as an important enough factor. When obesity is discussed, emphasis is put on the physiological effects it has on the general public e.g. increases risk factors towards stroke, heart attacks, diabetes etc. Falls is not mentioned as a possibility (NHS 2019).