Obesity May Not Induce Dynamic Stability Disadvantage during Overground Walking among Young Adults

Abstract

Obesity has been related to postural instability during static standing. It remains unknown how obesity influences stability during dynamic movements like gait. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effects of obesity on dynamic gait stability control in young adults during gait. Forty-four young adults (21 normal-weight and 23 obese) participated in this study. Participants walked five times at their self-selected gait speeds on a linear walkway. Their full-body kinematics were gathered by a motion capture system. Compared with normal-weight group, individuals with obesity walked more slowly with a shorter but wider step. People with obesity also spent an elongated double stance phase than those with normal weight. A reduced gait speed decreases the body center of mass’s velocity relative to the base of support, leading to a reduction in dynamic stability. On the other hand, a shortened step in accompanying with a less backward-leaning trunk has the potential to bring the center of mass closer to the base of support, resulting in an increase in dynamic stability. As the result of these adaptive changes to the gait pattern, dynamic gait stability among people with obesity did not significantly differ from the one among people with normal weight. Obesity seems to not be inducing dynamic stability disadvantage in young adults during level overground walking. These findings could provide insight into the mechanisms of stability control among people affected by obesity during dynamic locomotion.

An investigation of the spatio-temporal parameters of gait and margins of stability throughout adulthood

“…Furthermore, a shorter single support phase in combination with an increase in step time may be induced to establish a more stable double support phase more quickly and for a longer time [46]. increase in BMI, slower walking speeds, shorter steps and a longer double support phase are preferred in order to minimize the gross energy cost [45,[48][49][50]. Specifically, the slower walking speed lowers the mechanical work needed to redirect the CoM [49].…”

“…increase in BMI, slower walking speeds, shorter steps and a longer double support phase are preferred in order to minimize the gross energy cost [45,[48][49][50]. Specifically, the slower walking speed lowers the mechanical work needed to redirect the CoM [49]. The slower walking speed in combination with a shorter step length may explain the unchanged AP MoS, ensuring forward progression without increasing the risk of a backwards loss of balance [51].…”

Speed impacts frontal-plane maneuver stability of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury

“…Old age [36,37] and body mass associated with obesity [38] are both associated with reductions in stability. To offset this instability, older adults [11][12][13] and obese individuals [38] select conservative gait patterns.…”

“…Old age [36,37] and body mass associated with obesity [38] are both associated with reductions in stability. To offset this instability, older adults [11][12][13] and obese individuals [38] select conservative gait patterns. In the current study, our participants spanned a large range of ages (18-75 years) and body weights (49-96 kg).…”

Effects of obesity on postural balance and occurrence of falls in asymptomatic adults

“…Therefore, high body mass index (BMI) has an association with increased postural sway in obese [6,8], mainly in the medial-lateral (ML) direction for men and anteroposterior (AP) for women [8][9][10], and occurrence of falls in adults [11]. However, some studies reported no difference between obese and control group regarding the position of the center of pressure (COP) in static PB [12,13] and the dynamic gait stability [14]. Although these previous findings suggest that body weight is responsible for more than 50% of the variance of COP speed [5], it is not reasonable just to consider this anthropometric variable for explaining the PB in obesity.…”