Metabolic energy cost of unrestrained walking

Physiologic factors of metabolic energy cost as well as selected mechanical characteristics of gait are described in a group of 40 presumably normal men and women between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Special emphasis was placed on unrestrained (free cadence) walking to provide a reliable baseline for comparison to persons with physical gait impairments. Velocity of walking was the most important factor in determining oxygen uptake and was independent of age or sex. An empirical equation was established relating oxygen uptake to the speed of walking. The average velocity for men in unrestrained walking trials was 89 meters per minute; for women 74 meters per minute. These differences were related to the greater stride length in men. The average cadence selected by both sexes was 116 steps per minute. None of these factors was age dependent. Of the physiologic measures only systolic blood pressure was age dependent predictably rising with age. The mean heart rate was 103 beats per minute and did not vary significantly between men and women. The mean respiratory rate was 19 per minute; the mean respiratory quotient, 0.85, neither being age or sex dependent. Oxygen uptake values averaged 12.95 ml/kg-min for the population studied and again were neither age nor sex dependent.