Postural control in obese adolescents assessed by limits of stability and gait initiation

The biomechanical changes in postural control and in motor activities linked to obesity are still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess the adaptation in static and dynamic control of equilibrium when the body mass to be stabilized and moved is increased through obesity. Postural stability limits and gait initiation at slow and fast velocities were compared in a case control study that included a group of obese adolescents and a control group of adolescents with normal weight. The consequences of overweight are more clearly evident from the results on dynamic stability of the obese group than those on static equilibrium. Both the lower values of the biomechanical parameters characterizing the progression velocity of gait and the longer duration of the swing phase for the fast velocity condition suggest that obesity acts as a slowing factor. However, the reduction of the postural stability limits of the obese group, their inability to increase the anticipatory phase duration unlike the control group, the increase in the double support phase duration as well as some difficulty in controlling the fall of the centre of gravity suggest that, in these subjects, an adaptive strategy is adopted to preserve equilibrium by limiting progression velocity.