Abstract
An important health-related problem of obesity is reduced stance stability, leading to increased chance of falling. In the present experiment, we aimed to compare stability in quiet and in dynamic body balance between women with morbid obesity (n = 13, body mass index [BMI] > 40 Kg/m2, mean age = 38.85 years) and with healthy body weight (lean) (n = 13; BMI < 25 Kg/m2, mean age = 37.62 years), evaluating the extent to which quiet and dynamic balance stability are associated with plantar sensibility. Quiet stance was evaluated in different visual and support base conditions. The dynamic task consisted of rhythmic flexion—extension movements at the hip and shoulder, manipulating vision availability. The plantar sensibility threshold was measured through application of monofilaments on the feet soles. The results showed that the morbidly obese, in comparison with the lean women, had higher plantar sensibility thresholds, and a reduced balance stability in quiet standing. Mediolateral stance stability on the malleable surface was strongly correlated with plantar sensibility in the obese women. Analysis of dynamic balance showed no effect of obesity and weaker correlations with plantar sensibility. Our results suggest that reduced plantar sensibility in morbidly obese women may underlie their diminished stance stability, while dynamic balance control seems to be unaffected by their reduced plantar sensibility.
Highlights
Among anthropometric parameters, body weight has been revealed to be one of the strongest predictors of body balance stability
The current study was conducted with the purpose of comparing morbidly obese and lean women in tasks requiring quiet stance and dynamic balance stability, in addition to estimating the extent to which balance stability can be accounted for by plantar sensibility
Quiet stance analysis revealed that morbid obesity led to increased amplitude of body sway, mainly in the AP direction, while mediolateral sway was significantly increased in the obese women only in the more challenging condition of no vision when standing on the malleable surface
Summary
Body weight has been revealed to be one of the strongest predictors of body balance stability. Data presented by Hue et al [1] indicated that body weight accounts for over 50% of balance stability variance. Association between body weight and balance stability is relevant for obese individuals. As indicated by evaluation of amplitude and velocity of feet soles center of pressure (CoP) sway in the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions, balance stability in a quiet upright stance is decreased in obese women as compared to lower weight groups [2,3,4,5,6,7]. Dutil et al [2] showed that obese, in comparison with lean individuals, presented an increased range of CoP sway when visual information was prevented, suggesting a greater dependence on vision for balance control. Gender-related comparisons suggest that women may have their balance more importantly affected than men [3], requiring increased attention regarding obesity-related balance deficits
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