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Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
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Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults

Published on: November 7, 2014

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The influence of childhood obesity on spatio-temporal gait parameters

Jesús Montes-Alguacil1, Joaquín Páez-Moguer1, Ana Maria Jiménez Cebrián1

  • 1Podiatry Department, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Malaga, Spain.

Gait & Posture
|April 23, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Childhood obesity significantly impacts gait by lengthening the support phase, affecting load response and pre-swing. This requires more energy for children with obesity to stabilize their walk, potentially causing biomechanical issues.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Biomechanics
  • Human Movement Science

Background:

  • Excess body weight in children can impact musculoskeletal and neurosensorial development.
  • Childhood obesity's influence on gait is not fully understood, necessitating further research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the influence of obesity on gait spatiotemporal parameters in a large sample of healthy school children.
  • To investigate gait characteristics during overground walking at self-selected speeds in relation to body mass index.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 238 healthy school children (aged 7-11 years) was analyzed.
  • Body mass index (BMI) was calculated to classify children into weight categories (normal weight, overweight, obese).
  • Gait spatiotemporal parameters were assessed using the OptoGait® portable photocell system.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in spatial gait variables were found between normal weight and obese children.
  • Significant differences were observed in the duration of the stance phase, load response, and pre-swing phase (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

  • Childhood obesity significantly influences gait by increasing the duration of the load response and pre-swing phases, thus extending the total support phase.
  • This altered gait pattern in obese children necessitates greater energy expenditure for stabilization and may have biomechanical repercussions.

Keywords:
ChildrenGaitObesity

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