Abstract
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States, and weight loss is key component to overcoming the problem. However, the risk of falling and injury in the obese population may hinder their engagement in the amount and intensity of physical activity needed to lose weight. The risks of falling and injury have been attributed to differences in temporospatial walking parameters, musculoskeletal structure, and cognitive processing: all of which affect the obese population’s ability to adapt while walking. We have proposed that an intervention using motor learning principles with an implicit learning task could improve the adaptive abilities of obese individuals during movement and thus, allow for safer participation in physical activity during weight loss interventions.
Highlights
The increased prevalence of obesity in adults from the 1970s through the 1990s [1] has made obesity a prime concern for health professionals in the United States for many years
The purpose of this paper is to argue the importance of how an individual’s ability to adapt affects safe participation in physical activity weight loss interventions
Adult obesity is associated with impairments in many aspects of walking that affect adaptation, which can lead to falls and injuries [9]
Summary
The increased prevalence of obesity in adults from the 1970s through the 1990s [1] has made obesity a prime concern for health professionals in the United States for many years. To combat the obesity epidemic, there has been an emphasis on encouraging physical and habitual (i.e. healthy eating, taking the stairs, etc.) lifestyle changes to aid in the weight loss process [4, 5]. While successful, these interventions take years to reach the desired goal because weight loss is a slow process [4,5]. Evidence shows that obesity is associated with differences in walking that affect the ability to adapt: the ability to modify movements when faced with changes in local conditions [6] These differences may contribute to the greater incidence of falls and injuries seen in the obese population [7,8]. The ability to adapt can be key for obese adults to maintain safety during physical weight loss interventions
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