Influence of obesity on proprioception of knee and ankle joints in obese prepubertal children

Quadriceps muscle reaction time in obese children

“…The changes at the muscular level are not the only ones known in the sensorimotor system. The scientific evidence additionally reveals alterations in the other two groups of this system: sensory ( Saleh & Abd El-Hakiem Abd El-Nabie, 2018 ) and cortical ( Li et al, 2022 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), which would also contribute to understanding the lower neuromuscular capacity of overweight/obese children detected in this study and the alterations in motor skills and functional performance observed in previous studies ( Barros et al, 2022 ; Guzmán-Muñoz et al, 2023 ; Thivel et al, 2016 ). At the sensory level, it has been seen, specifically, that proprioception is decreased in obese children, which is considered a determining factor in the poor motor control observed in these persons ( Saleh & Abd El-Hakiem Abd El-Nabie, 2018 ).…”

“…The scientific evidence additionally reveals alterations in the other two groups of this system: sensory ( Saleh & Abd El-Hakiem Abd El-Nabie, 2018 ) and cortical ( Li et al, 2022 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), which would also contribute to understanding the lower neuromuscular capacity of overweight/obese children detected in this study and the alterations in motor skills and functional performance observed in previous studies ( Barros et al, 2022 ; Guzmán-Muñoz et al, 2023 ; Thivel et al, 2016 ). At the sensory level, it has been seen, specifically, that proprioception is decreased in obese children, which is considered a determining factor in the poor motor control observed in these persons ( Saleh & Abd El-Hakiem Abd El-Nabie, 2018 ). Likewise, at the cortical level, a decrease in the volume of gray matter has been reported in overweight/obese people, not only in areas related to reward but also in areas of sensorimotor integration ( Li et al, 2022 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), which suggests that the deficits in motor skills and functional performance that obese children present could also be associated with adverse changes at this level.…”