Influence of Obesity on Foot Loading Characteristics in Gait for Children Aged 1 to 12 Years
- Background Overweight and obesity are increasing health problems that are not restricted to adults only. Childhood obesity is associated with metabolic, psychological and musculoskeletal comorbidities. However, knowledge about the effect of obesity on the foot function across maturation is lacking. Decreased foot function with disproportional loading characteristics is expected for obese children. The aim of this study was to examine foot loading characteristics during gait of normal-weight, overweight and obese children aged 1-12 years. Methods Results Mean walking velocity was 0.95 +/- 0.25 m/s with no differences between normal-weight, overweight or obese children (p = 0.0841). Results show higher foot contact area, arch index, peak pressure and force time integral in overweight and obese children (p< 0.001). Obese children showed the 1.48-fold (1 year-old) to 3.49-fold (10 year-old) midfoot loading (FTI) compared to normal-weight. Conclusion Additional body mass leads to higher overall load, with disproportional impact on theBackground Overweight and obesity are increasing health problems that are not restricted to adults only. Childhood obesity is associated with metabolic, psychological and musculoskeletal comorbidities. However, knowledge about the effect of obesity on the foot function across maturation is lacking. Decreased foot function with disproportional loading characteristics is expected for obese children. The aim of this study was to examine foot loading characteristics during gait of normal-weight, overweight and obese children aged 1-12 years. Methods Results Mean walking velocity was 0.95 +/- 0.25 m/s with no differences between normal-weight, overweight or obese children (p = 0.0841). Results show higher foot contact area, arch index, peak pressure and force time integral in overweight and obese children (p< 0.001). Obese children showed the 1.48-fold (1 year-old) to 3.49-fold (10 year-old) midfoot loading (FTI) compared to normal-weight. Conclusion Additional body mass leads to higher overall load, with disproportional impact on the midfoot area and longitudinal foot arch showing characteristic foot loading patterns. Already the feet of one and two year old children are significantly affected. Childhood overweight and obesity is not compensated by the musculoskeletal system. To avoid excessive foot loading with potential risk of discomfort or pain in childhood, prevention strategies should be developed and validated for children with a high body mass index and functional changes in the midfoot area. The presented plantar pressure values could additionally serve as reference data to identify suspicious foot loading patterns in children.…
Author details: | Steffen MuellerGND, Anja CarlsohnORCiDGND, Juliane MuellerORCiDGND, Heiner BaurORCiDGND, Frank MayerORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149924 |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
Pubmed ID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26914211 |
Title of parent work (English): | PLoS one |
Publisher: | PLoS |
Place of publishing: | San Fransisco |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2016 |
Publication year: | 2016 |
Release date: | 2020/03/22 |
Volume: | 11 |
Number of pages: | 12 |
First page: | 1710 |
Last Page: | 1717 |
Funding institution: | Federation of the German Footwear Industry (HDS, Offenbach, Germany); RICOSTA Schuhfabriken GmbH (Donaueschingen, Germany); University of Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; University of Potsdam |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Institution name at the time of the publication: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Exzellenzbereich Kognitionswissenschaften |