The Impact of Obesity and Weight Loss on Gait in Adults - The Mechanobiology of Obesity and Related Diseases - page 139

in obese compared to lean individuals, and the gait differences after weight loss.
Taken together, the results of previous studies indicate that obese subjects exhibit a
lower preferred walking speed and have a shorter stride length, a lower step
frequency, a longer stance phase, a shorter swing phase, a greater step width and a
longer double support phase compared to normal-weight individuals. Although the
absolute ground reaction forces and joint moments are higher in the obese, reports
on gait kinematics and joint moments in obese individuals compared to lean
individuals are inconsistent. These differences might partly be due to the walking
speed used (e.g. standardized versus self-selected speed) and the method for
normalizing the joint moment values. Weight loss appears to reduce absolute joint
forces and impulsive loadings during walking, but no significant change has been
observed in normalized hip and knee joint moments. As a conclusion, radical
weight loss not only induces simple mass-related changes in gait, but also changes
in gait behavior, i.e., mechanical plasticity. These two types of change affect
loadings on the joints. The effects of sustained weight loss on the progression of
OA and symptoms related to biomechanical factors remain to be demonstrated.

Acknowledgments This study has been supported by the strategic funding of the University of
Eastern Finland and by grants from Kuopio University Hospital.

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