The influence of excessive body mass on the setting of the lower limbs in 9-11-year-old children

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood obesity adversely affects the development of the musculoskeletal system. The purpose of the study was to find out correlation between excessive body weight, the knee misalignment and the height of foot arches in the 9-11-year-olds. Materials and methods: A total of 160 children from randomly selected schools participated in the study in which their body weight, height and the body fat percentage (BFP) were measured, and BMI and foot arching and knee alignment were observed. Genu valgum was assessed when the intermalleolar distance in the standing position with the knees in contact was larger than 5 cm. The height of the longitudinal arch of each foot was measured by Arch Index. Pes planus was diagnosed when the area of the middle third of the footprint was bigger than 28% of the entire footprint area. Results: Excessive body weight was discovered in almost 27% of participants. Genu valgum was typical of 5% of children with healthy body weight and almost of 56% of children with overweight and obesity. The incidence of pes planus was also greater in overweight and obese participants and it was more prevalent in the left foot. Participants with healthy body weight more often had hollow feet. Conclusions: More than a quarter of 9-11-year-old participants were overweight or obese. Excessive body weight increased the risk of developing by them genu valgum and pes planus. Physical activity recommended to obese children should consist of body posture correction exercises including improvement of lower extremities alignment.