Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the kinematic components of the walking gait of obese men to those of nonobese men. Self- paced walking trials of 12 obese volunteers, ranging in age from 30 to 47 years and in obesity from 70% to 99% above ideal body weight, were recorded via cinematography. The following findings were recorded: (1) obese persons (1.09m/sec) walk significantly (p<.001) slower than nonobese subjects (1.64m/sec); (2) obese persons take significantly (p<.001) shorter strides (1.25m vs 1.67m) and exhibit step widths (.16m) twice those of nonobese persons (.08m); (3) mean hip abduction angles of the obese are significantly (p<.001) different at some events of the walking cycle from the hip angles of nonobese persons; (4) mean hip and knee flexion angles are not significantly different for obese and nonobese subjects; and (5) obese individuals demonstrate a walking gait pattern with significantly greater (p<.001) mean magnitude of ankle dorsiflexion and lesser (p<.001) mean magnitude of ankle plantar flexion than nonobese subjects throughout the walking cycle. It is concluded that obese individuals display a walking gait that follows a normal pattern but some of the temporal and angular components of their gait are different from those of nonobese persons mainly because of the excessive adipose tissue inside their thighs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1065-1070 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| State | Published - 1991 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gait
- Locomotion
- Obesity