Energy expenditure associated with walking speed and angle of turn in children

Abstract

PurposeRecent studies have suggested that turning is power intensive. Given the sporadic and irregular movement patterns of children, such findings have important implications for the assessment of true energy expenditure associated with habitual physical activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of walking speed and angle, and their interaction, on the energy expenditure of healthy children.Methods20 children (10.1 ± 0.5 years; 10 boys) participated in the study. On two separate days, participants completed a turning protocol involving 3-min bouts of walking at one of the 16 speed (2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 km h− 1) and angle (0°, 45°, 90°, and 180°) combinations, interspersed by 3 min seated rest. The movement involved 5 m straight walking interspaced with prescribed turns with speed dictated by a digital, auditory metronome. Breath-by-breath gas exchange was measured, in addition to tri-axial acceleration and magnetic field intensity recorded at 100 Hz.ResultsMixed models revealed a significant main effect for speed (p < 0.006) and angle (p < 0.006), with no significant interaction between speed and angle (p > 0.006). Significant differences to straight-line walking energy expenditure within speed were established for 3.5 and 5.5 km h− 1 for 180° turns (~ 13% and ~ 30% increase, respectively).ConclusionThese findings highlight the importance of accounting for the magnitude and frequency of turns completed when estimating children’s habitual physical activity and have significant implications for the assessment of daily energy expenditure.

Accelerometric Assessment of Postural Balance in Children: A Systematic Review

“…Furthermore, the quality of the selected articles was established under the following scale: low (<33.3%), medium (33.4–66.7%), and high (>66.8%) [ 29 , 30 ]. Of the 18 articles analyzed, 7 showed medium quality [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ] and 10 showed high quality [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ] ( Table S1—Supplementary Materials ).…”

“…The objectives of the analyzed studies were varied. Those which employed a cross-sectional observational methodology were focused on estimating the normative assessment data through the Sway Balance System (SBS) method [ 31 ], evaluating the magnitude of anticipatory postural adjustments [ 42 ] and quantifying accelerations during gait (during normal gait [ 33 , 37 ], with trajectory and velocity changes [ 39 ], and while performing a cognitive task [ 35 ]). One study combined the analysis of static balance and balance during gait in order to determine the reliability and validity of accelerometry to evaluate balance in children [ 46 ].…”

“…Two groups of studies were differentiated based on the following aspect: those which exclusively used heathy individuals in their samples [ 31 , 39 , 41 , 46 , 47 ] and those which included children with pathologies. Among the latter, the state of postural control in children with cerebral palsy (CP) was the study object in eight studies: exclusively in four of them [ 32 , 36 , 43 , 44 ], using data of children with TD as the control group in three [ 37 , 40 , 42 ], and, lastly, analyzing children with TD, healthy young and older adults, and older people with subacute stroke in one study [ 34 ].…”

“…The samples used were small, with less than 70 participants in most of the cases [ 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 48 ]. Only six studies analyzed larger samples [ 31 , 34 , 38 , 41 , 45 , 47 ], with sample sizes ranging from 85 participants (of whom only 25 were children) [ 34 ] to 6762 participants (of whom only 606 were children) [ 41 ].…”

“…In contrast, the study of Shiratori et al [ 42 ] used a female proportion of 70%. Finally, seven studies used relatively balanced samples in terms of sex distribution [ 34 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], with female proportions between 50% [ 46 , 47 ] and 45% [ 37 ].…”