The aim of this study was to investigate if the vertical ground reaction force can be used to detect if a subject has poor balance. The body equilibrium is perturbed by the heartbeats during quiet standing and this is reflected in the vertical ground reaction force. Force plate measurements showed that healthy adults damp the vertical body oscillations caused by the heartbeats more efficiently than subjects with an impaired or not fully developed postural control system do. This indicates that the vertical force has potential to become useful for assessment of balance during quiet standing.