Normative Data for the Balance Error Scoring System in Adults
Table 1
Normative reference values for the BESS stratified by age.
Age
Mean
Median
SD
Superior
Above average
Broadly normal
Below average
Poor
Very poor
20–29
65
11.3
11.0
4.8
0–5
6-7
8–14
15–17
18–23
24+
30–39
173
11.5
11.0
5.5
0–4
5–7
8–15
16–18
19–26
27+
40–49
352
12.5
11.5
6.2
0–5
6–8
9–16
17–20
21–28
29+
50–54
224
14.2
12.0
7.5
0–6
7-8
9–18
19–24
25–33
34+
55–59
197
16.5
15.0
7.6
0–7
8–10
11–20
21–28
29–35
36+
60–64
148
18.0
16.5
7.8
0–8
9–12
13–22
23–28
29–40
41+
65-69
77
19.9
18.0
7.1
0–12
13–15
16–24
25–32
33–38
39+
Men
20–29
26*
10.4
10.0
4.4
0–4
5-6
7–14
15
16–21
22+
30–39
97
11.5
11.0
5.5
0–4
5-6
7–15
16–18
19–26
27+
40–49
212
12.4
12.0
5.7
0–5
6-7
8–16
17–20
21–27
28+
50–54
142
13.6
12.0
6.9
0–6
7
8–17
18–23
24–28
29+
55–59
117
16.4
15.0
7.2
0–7
8–10
11–20
21–28
29–34
35+
60–64
89
17.2
16.0
7.1
0–8
9–11
12–21
22–27
28–35
36+
65–69
56
20.0
18.0
7.3
0–12
13-14
15–23
24–33
34–39
40+
Women
20–29
39*
11.9
11.0
5.1
0–5
6-7
8–14
15–19
20–25
26+
30–39
76
11.4
10.5
5.6
0–4
5-6
7–15
16–19
20–27
28+
40–49
140
12.7
11.0
6.9
0–5
6-7
8–15
16–20
21–29
30+
50–54
82
15.1
13.0
8.2
0–7
8-9
10–20
21–24
25–35
36+
55–59
80
16.7
15.0
8.2
0–8
9-10
11–21
22–28
29–39
40+
60–64
59
19.3
17.0
8.8
0–9
10–12
13–22
23–31
32–43
44+
65–69
21*
19.9
18.0
6.6
0–13
14
15–24
25–27
28–38
39+
Women: BMI ≥ 30
20–49
27*
17.3
16.0
6.5
0–8
9–12
13–22
23–27
28–33
34+
50–64
32*
21.6
20.0
8.4
0–11
12–14
15–27
28–32
33–41
42+
*Unusually small sample sizes limit the usefulness of these normative reference values. The maximum score for each trial was truncated at 10 points. BMI: body mass index. Body mass had a greater effect on balance performance in women than in men. Superior scores occur in fewer than 10% of the sample. Above average scores occur in approximately 15%, broadly normal scores occur in approximately 50%, below average scores occur in approximately 15%, poor scores occur in approximately 8%, and very poor scores occur in fewer than 2%. These classification ranges correspond to the following percentile ranks: Very poor < 2nd percentile; poor = 2nd–9th percentile; below average = 10th–24th percentile; broadly normal = 25th–75th percentile; above average = 76th–90th percentile; superior > 90th percentile.
