Multifractal Analysis Differentiates Postural Sway in Obese and Nonobese Children

Multifractal analyses have been used in recent years as a way of studying balance, with the goal of understanding the patterns of movement of the center of pressure at different spatial scales. A multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis was used to compare obese and nonobese children to investigate the cause of previously demonstrated deficiencies in balance for obese children. Twenty-two children (11 obese and 11 nonobese), aged 8-15 years, performed 30-s trials of bilateral static balance on a plantar pressure distribution measuring device. Both the obese and nonobese groups demonstrated greater persistence for small fluctuations, but the effect was greater in the obese group. This was particularly evident with the eyes closed, where significant differences between the obese and nonobese were observed for small fluctuations. These results demonstrate that balance deficiencies in obese children may be the result of decreased proprioceptive abilities in obese children.