<p>Supporting the daily lives of frail elderly people with reduced muscle strength is needed. One promising approach is a design tailored to weakening muscles. However, how the shape of the daily environment affects the frail elderly people’s behavior remains unclear. In this study, desks of different shapes were fabricated, and the standing and sitting movements of 85 frail elderly people (65 to 90 year-old) with their hands on those desks were measured. The results confirmed the presence of handrails or handholds significantly increased the force exerted on the desks, but that suppressed the muscle activity contributing to the desk-pushing movement. The handrails and handholds also contributed to shifting the center of gravity of the upper body forward. These analyses suggest that even minor design features can significantly contribute to the postural shift of the upper body of elderly people and assist them in standing and sitting using less muscular force.</p>
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