text_1: Musical Exercise Program Cuts Falls in Elderly
text_2: <br />  This story parrots the fundamental error of a journal news release about a trial of an exercise program intended to improve the walking ability and reduce falls among older people. The release and this story claim that “exercising to piano music” appears to reduce falls, but the trial did not actually test that hypothesis. The trial randomized participants to either a series of exercise classes or to continuing their usual activities, so all it can say is that class participation appeared to offer benefits. As the researchers wrote in their journal article, they could “only speculate on the factors responsible.”   On a side note, the New York Times may want to claim credit for a huge scoop on reporting about the potential benefits of this type of exercising to music. It published a story on these classes almost 97 years ago. <br />  Regurgitating a news release violates the fundamental principles of journalism. It also leads to the second major flaw seen in this report: repeating the misinterpretation of research committed by news release writers.