Risk Factors For Falls Research Articles

The Incidence and Risk Factors of Falls During Pregnancy

Background: During pregnancy, many hormonal, anatomical, and musculoskeletal changes occur. These changes alter the postural balance and increase the risk of falls. Falls during pregnancy can cause maternal and foetal injuries. In our analysis, we focused on women who fell as a result of gait and balance alterations. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of falls in our study population. The secondary objective was to identify the risk factors for falls during pregnancy. Methods: 165 healthy singleton pregnant women were included in the study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their sociodemographic information, baseline health status and medical history, a detailed interview about potential falls during pregnancy, and a Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES) questionnaire. A blood sample was taken to determine the baseline total circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level. Based on the evaluation of the questionnaires, we then divided the participants into two groups—the first group consisted of women who experienced a fall during pregnancy, and the rest of the participating pregnant women were included in the control group. Comparing the two groups, we analysed selected demographic data and a number of other variables including weight gain, the amount of exercise performed during pregnancy, and the participants’ vitamin D levels. Results: The incidence of falls in our study was 12.73%. We found that age was the only statistically significant independent risk factor for falls during pregnancy (p-value: 0.0267). We found no statistical difference between the two groups regarding their levels of serum vitamin D. We also compared relevant variables in patients who feared the possibility of a fall and those who did not. We concluded that this fear was mainly associated with participants with BMI >25 (p-value: 0.0037 [RR: 2.31; 95% CI: 1.24–4.33]), while the feeling of improved postural stability was observed in women with regular exercise patterns (defined as physical exercise more than a 3 times per week) (p-value: 0.0377 [RR: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.03–1.22]). Conclusions: We did not manage to establish any isolated risk factors of falls during pregnancy except that of a higher age. In contrast to other studies, we did not confirm that regular exercise lowers the risk of falls, only that it improves self-confidence in the postural stability of pregnant women. Further study with objective quantification of postural and dynamic stability of pregnant women by using computerised static posturography may help to identify more accurately the risk group of pregnant patients. This will be the aim of our further work.

Protocol for the development of a core outcome set for evaluating mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease and stroke.

Background: Given the high incidence of falls and their associated negative effects, the development of effective falls prevention interventions for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and stroke is a priority. Currently the implementation of condition-specific falls prevention interventions is challenging in the community due to lack of participants and resources. Given the similarities in falls risk factors across stroke, PD and MS, the design of mixed-diagnosis interventions for groups comprising of people with these three neurological conditions may solve these implementation challenges. Having a core outcome set (COS) for evaluating these interventions would enable the comparison and combination of data, thereby facilitating progress in this research area. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to develop a COS for evaluating mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke. Methods: This will be a mixed-methods, international, multi-perspective Delphi consensus study with five stages. Stage one will involve the identification of potential outcomes through a systematic literature search, patient focus groups, and consultation with our stakeholder group. The second stage will be the development of the Delphi survey using the outcomes elicited from stage one. Stage three will be the prioritisation of outcomes using a two-round online Delphi survey involving patients, clinicians, researchers and policy-makers/service-planners. The fourth stage will be to identify and recommend outcome measures and definitions. The final stage will be a consensus meeting with representatives from each stakeholder group to agree upon the final COS. Discussion: Adoption of this COS in future trials investigating the effectiveness of mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke will facilitate the comparison and combination of research findings. This should translate into improved decision-making by service-planners/policy-makers and clinicians regarding the implementation of evidence-based falls prevention interventions into practice.

The Relationship Between Duration of General Anesthesia and Postoperative Fall Risk During Hospital Stay in Orthopedic Patients.

We performed a retrospective observational study to investigate the relationship between general anesthesia duration and postoperative falls of hospitalized patients who underwent orthopedic surgery. We used electronic medical record data and incident report data from the Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital. The study included 4,042 patients admitted to the Department of Orthopedic Surgery from 2014 to 2018, and the following exclusion criteria were applied: no surgery, less than 18 years of age, and fall between admission and surgery. This study only considered falls that occurred within 21 days of surgery. The multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for patient background was used to determine the risk of falling according to the duration of general anesthesia. After exclusions, 3,398 patients were included in the analysis. Among them, 45 patients (1.32%) had fallen, of whom 7 (15.6%) were injured and 2 (4.4%) experienced fractures. Multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the adjusted odds ratio showed that longer general anesthesia duration was an independent risk factor for postoperative falls. In addition, cardiovascular disease had significantly higher associations with postoperative falls. In the postoperative care of orthopedic patients, the risk of falling should be assessed by considering the duration of general anesthesia in addition to the traditional fall risk factors. Furthermore, falls could be prevented by educating patients and their caregivers about the risk and mobilizing staff to support postoperative patients at a higher risk of falls when they walk in the hospital.

Protocol for the development of a core outcome set for evaluating mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and stroke

Background: Given the high incidence of falls and their associated negative effects, the development of effective falls prevention interventions for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and stroke is a priority. Currently the implementation of condition-specific falls prevention interventions is challenging in the community due to lack of participants and resources. Given the similarities in falls risk factors across stroke, PD and MS, the design of mixed-diagnosis interventions for groups comprising of people with these three neurological conditions may solve these implementation challenges. Having a core outcome set (COS) for evaluating these interventions would enable the comparison and combination of data, thereby facilitating progress in this research area. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to develop a COS for evaluating mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke. Methods: This will be a mixed-methods, international, multi-perspective Delphi consensus study with five stages. Stage one will involve the identification of potential outcomes through a systematic literature search, patient focus groups, and consultation with our stakeholder group. The second stage will be the development of the Delphi survey using the outcomes elicited from stage one. Stage three will be the prioritisation of outcomes using a two-round online Delphi survey involving patients, clinicians, researchers and policy-makers/service-planners. The fourth stage will be to identify and recommend outcome measures and definitions. The final stage will be a consensus meeting with representatives from each stakeholder group to agree upon the final COS. Discussion: Adoption of this COS in future trials investigating the effectiveness of mixed-diagnosis falls prevention interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke will facilitate the comparison and combination of research findings. This should translate into improved decision-making by service-planners/policy-makers and clinicians regarding the implementation of evidence-based falls prevention interventions into practice.

The Developments and Iterations of a Mobile Technology-Based Fall Risk Health Application.

Falls are a prevalent and serious health concern across clinical populations. A critical step in falls prevention is identifying modifiable risk factors, but due to time constraints and equipment costs, fall risk screening is rarely performed. Mobile technology offers an innovative approach to provide personalized fall risk screening for clinical populations. To inform future development, this manuscript discusses the development and testing of mobile health fall risk applications for three unique clinical populations [older adults, individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and wheeled-device users]. We focus on key lessons learned and future directions to improve the field of fall risk mHealth. During the development phase, we first identified fall risk factors specific to each population that are measurable with mobile technology. Second, we determined whether inertial measurement units within smartphones can measure postural control within the target population. Last, we developed the interface of each app with a user-centered design approach with usability testing through iterative semi-structured interviews. We then tested our apps in real-world settings. Our cumulative work demonstrates that mobile technology can be leveraged to provide personalized fall risk screening for different clinical populations. Fall risk apps should be designed and tailored for the targeted group to enhance usefulness and feasibility. In addition, fall risk factors measured with mobile technology should include those that are specific to the population, are measurable with mobile technology, and can accurately measure fall risk. Future work should improve fall risk algorithms and implement mobile technology into fall prevention programs.

Relationship between Associated Neuropsychological Factors and Fall Risk Factors in Community-Dwelling Elderly.

This study examined whether neuropsychological factors could affect fall risk factors in the community-dwelling elderly via correlation analysis. A total of 393 older adults (76.69 ± 6.01) participated in this study. Cognitive function, depression, fall efficacy, balance confidence, balance, gait, and muscle strength were evaluated, and the correlation between psychological factors and fall risk factors was analyzed. Additionally, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether or not there was a significant effect between psychological factors and fall risk factors. Analysis showed that the psychological factors examined were all significantly correlated with the fall risk factors. A correlation analysis between cognitive function and fall risk factors showed that the correlation coefficient of the 6-Meter Walk Test was highest; for depression and fall risk factors, the correlation coefficient of gait speed was highest; for fall efficacy and fall risk factors, the correlation coefficient of the 6-Meter Walk Test was highest; and for confidence in balancing and fall risk factors, the correlation coefficient of the 6-Meter Walk Test was highest. This study suggests that psychological factors affect fall risk factors in the community-dwelling elderly, and a multifaceted approach that includes psychological factors would be helpful in providing interventions for falls.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Postoperative Falls Following Foot and Ankle Surgery

No study has examined the incidence of risk factors for postoperative falls following foot and ankle surgery. We investigated the incidence and risk factors for postoperative falls in foot and ankle surgery using inpatient and outpatient population. A single fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon instituted collection of a postoperative fall questionnaire at 2 and 6 weeks postoperatively. A retrospective review of 135 patients with complete prospectively collected fall questionnaire data was performed. Patient demographic information, injury characteristics, comorbidities, baseline medications, length of hospital stay, visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were collected. After univariable analysis, a multivariable binary logistic regression was conducted to assess independent risk factors for postoperative falls. The median (interquartile range) age was 52 (21) and body mass index was 32.7 (11.1). A total of 108 patients (80%) underwent outpatient procedures. Thirty-nine of the 135 patients (28.9%) reported experiencing a fall in the first 6 weeks after surgery. In multivariable analysis, antidepressant use (adjusted odds ratio 3.41, 95% CI 1.19-9.81) and higher VAS pain scores at 2 weeks postoperatively (adjusted odds ratio 1.27, 95% CI 1.08-1.50) were found to be independent risk factors for postoperative falls. This study found a high incidence of postoperative falls in the first 6 weeks after foot and ankle surgery. Baseline antidepressant use and higher 2-week VAS pain scores were associated with postoperative falls. Foot and ankle surgeons should discuss the risk of falling with patients especially those with risk factors. Level III, retrospective cohort study at a single institution.

Most Falls of Active Elderly People are not Caused by Decreases in Physical Function

Several healthy, community-dwelling elderly people who live independently experience falls. However, their falls are not always attributed to decreased physical function. We aimed to examine the cause of falls in active elderly people. They were divided into fallers (n = 49) and non-fallers (n = 170) based on their fall experience during the previous year. The subjects participated in the following tests: transferring velocity during the sit-to-stand, one-leg stand time, functional reach, 10-m maximal walking time, muscle strength (foot grip, ankle plantar flexion, hip flexion, knee extension strength), systemic reaction time, agility stepping, and maximal side step length after completing the ADL questionnaire, fall risk assessment sheet, fall risk profile from Demura et al, and life-space assessment sheet. No significant differences were observed in physical functions, which were the basis of fall prevention (muscle strength, balance, and gait) and fall avoidance (systemic reactions, agility stepping, and maximal side step length) between both groups. A significant difference was observed in the ADL score but not between both fall risk scores, and the Life-Space Assessment scores. Moreover, no significant differences were observed between the high risk ratio for falls and nursing care based on each questionnaire. In conclusion, the differences in physical function and fall risk factors between the fallers and non-fallers in active, independent elderly people living in the community were not observed. The cause of these falls (22.4%) was not attributed to physical function decreases or other fall risk factors. These may mainly depend on accidents resulting from high activity.

Effects of Fall Risk Factors on the Extent of Fall-related Injuries in the Elderly Living in Community Dwellings

Effects of Fall Risk Factors on the Extent of Fall-related Injuries in the Elderly Living in Community Dwellings

Rate of Torque Development and Torque Steadiness of the Lower Limb and Future Falls Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults Without Previous Falls: A Longitudinal 1-Year Study.

The objective was to investigate the association between rate of torque development (RTD) and torque steadiness (TS) of the lower limb and the occurrence of prospective falls in community-dwelling older adults without falls in the previous year. One hundred older adults performed the tests to obtain the RTD and TS of the hip, knee, and ankle. New episodes of falls were monitored through telephone contact for a prospective period of 12months. The association of RTD and TS with the occurrence of prospective falls was verified by multiple logistic regression adjusted for confounding variables. There was no association between RTD of hip, knee, and ankle and prospective falls. Only the TS at 50% of the peak torque of the hip flexors was associated with the occurrence of future falls (p = .023). Identifying modifiable risk factors for the first fall in older adults is essential for the development of adequate prevention programs.

Prevalence of Modifiable Risk Factors of Falls in Post-operative Elderly

Introduction: Falls are very common in elderly individuals. Falls are the accounting for morbidity and mortality. Falls are one of the major reasons in the elderly for hospitalization. Falls may lead to disability and sometimes patient may become handicap. Large number of elderly populations in rural as well as urban suffering from this problem. Many studies done on causes of falls. However, very less research is done on the prevalence of modifiable risk factors of falls in post-operative elderly individuals. Hence, there is a need to find out the modifiable risk factors which people can alter to reduce risk of fall. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to study and find out the prevalence of modifiable risk factors of falls in post-operative elderly individuals. Materials and Methods: This was an observational study with a total of 100 participants. The participants were elderly individuals who had a fall and underwent surgery for fracture correction. Both male and female age groups above 60 years old were selected for the study. Participants were selected from Krishna Hospital, Karad. Outcome measures were included visual examination, balance test, manual muscle testing, goniometry, and neurological examination. Results: The results have shown that the highest risk factor for falls is due to slippery floor (21%) followed by falls during toilet activities (14%). It can be seen that poor balance (13%), reduced strength of muscles (11%), and reduced range of motion (9%) also play a key role in being a risk factor for falls. The figure depicts other factors such as poor lighting (7%), climbing up and down the stairs (6%), improper foot wear (5%), and obesity (4%) is also responsible for falls in the elderly. Lack of use of assistive devices (4%), gait deficit (3%), wrong exercise habits (2%), and clothing (1%) also are some risk factors for falls to some extent. Conclusion: This study concludes that falls due to slippery floors are one of the most common occurrences followed by falls during toilet activities and due to poor balance. Other modifiable risk factors for falls include reduced strength of muscles, reduced range of motion, improper foot wear, clothing, gait deficit, climbing up or down the stairs, obesity, poor lighting, wrong exercise habits, and lack of use of assistive devices. It is of utmost importance to identify the modifiable risk factors in the elderly to prevent injuries and improve quality of life of the elderly.

Impact of cardiovascular evaluations and interventions on fall risk in older adults: a protocol for a scoping review and evidence map

IntroductionCardiovascular disorders are increasingly recognised as important fall risk factors in older adults. Falls are a major public health problem in older adults, and therefore, effective interventions for reducing falls...

Falls Characteristics and Falls Risk Factors in Middle- and Old-Aged Adults: A Comparison Between Fallers and Non-Fallers

Falls Characteristics and Falls Risk Factors in Middle- and Old-Aged Adults: A Comparison Between Fallers and Non-Fallers

Fall risk assessment through a synergistic multi-source DNN learning model

Falls are a complex problem and play a leading role in the development of disabilities in the older population. While fall detection systems are important, it is also essential to work on fall preventive strategies, which will have the most significant impact in reducing disability in the elderly. In this work, we explore a prospective cohort study, specifically designed for examining novel risk factors for falls in community-living older adults. Various types of data were acquired that are common for real-world applications. Learning from multiple data sources often leads to more valuable findings than any of the data sources can provide alone. However, simply merging features from disparate datasets usually will not produce a synergy effect. Hence, it becomes crucial to properly manage the synergy, complementarity, and conflicts that arise in multi-source learning. In this work, we propose a multi-source learning approach called the Synergy LSTM model, which exploits complementarity among textual fall descriptions together with people's physical characteristics. We further use the learned complementarities to evaluate fall risk factors present in the data. Experiment results show that our Synergy LSTM model can significantly improve classification performance and capture meaningful relations between data from multiple sources.

Gap between risk factors and prevention strategies? A nationwide survey of fall prevention among medical and surgical patients.

AimsThis study aimed to determine the extent to which nurses report assessing evidence‐based falls risk factors and implementing targeted prevention for medical and surgical patients in China.DesignThis study was a national online survey.MethodsThe respondents were registered nurses working in medical and surgical units in 662 Chinese hospitals. The data concerning the falls risk factor assessments and targeted interventions implemented by nurses were collected online by the Nursing Management Committee of the Chinese Nursing Association in China in 2019.ResultsIn total, 68 527 valid questionnaires were returned (95.0%). In medical and surgical units, nurses were most likely to report assessing balance, mobility and strength (81.6%) and orthostatic hypotension (76.4%) in falls patients and least likely to report assessing continence (61.3%) and feet and footwear (55.8%). Ensuring the use of appropriate footwear (79.3%) and managing syncope, dizziness and vertigo (73.8%) were the most common multiple interventions, while managing postural hypotension (48.8%) and cognitive impairment (48.4%) was the least common. Nine falls risk factors with clearly matched multifactorial interventions were identified in medical and surgical units (68.2%–97.1%).ConclusionsThe implementation of multifactorial interventions in medical and surgical wards is inconsistent as reported by nurses in medical and surgical wards. Throughout China, nurses are generally concerned about falls risk factors and prevention for their patients; however, limited attention has been focused on continence, feet and footwear assessment and the management of cognitive impairment. Evidence‐based falls prevention should be further tailored to the specific risk factors of each patient.ImpactBest practice guidelines for falls prevention in hospitals have been developed and published, and it is important for nurses to use these guidelines to guide practice. Our findings identify that in routine care, healthcare providers and hospitals can prevent falls.

Fall arrest strategy training improves upper body response time compared to standard fall prevention exercise in older women: A randomized trial

Introduction Exercise can decrease fall risk in older adults but less is known about training to reduce injury risk in the event a fall is unavoidable. The purpose of this study was to compare standard fall prevention exercises to novel Fall Arrest Strategy Training (FAST); exercises designed to improve upper body capacity to reduce fall-injury risk in older women. Method Forty women (mean age 74.5 years) participated in either Standard (n = 19) or FAST (n = 21) twice per week for 12 weeks. Both interventions included lower body strength, balance, walking practice, agility and education. FAST added exercises designed to enhance forward landing and descent control such as upper body strengthening, speed and practice of landing and descent on outstretched hands. Results Both FAST and Standard significantly improved strength, mobility, balance, and fall risk factors from pre to post-intervention. There was a significant time by group interaction effect for upper body response time where FAST improved but Standard did not (p = 0.038). Discussion FAST resulted in similar gains in factors that reduce fall risk as a standard fall prevention program; with the additional benefit of improving speed of arm protective responses; a factor that may help enhance landing position and reduce injury risks such as head impact during a forward fall.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Risk Factor for Fall among Community Dwelling Indonesian Elderly

BACKGROUND: Fall-related injuries are identified as a public health problem that has major consequences in affecting the lives of elderly people. Recent studies showed that one out of four elderly people suffers from this condition annually. AIM: This study aims at identification of fall risk factors that involve intrinsic and extrinsic factor to predict the future fall. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study uses an observational design and a descriptive-analytic approach with a cross-sectional method which was used to identify risk factors for falls. This study targeted 60 years and above who live in West Java region. Afterward, a total of 420 people were obtained and divided into two regions, 215 people in Bandung Regency and 205 people in Bandung City. Furthermore, the sampling technique used was for cluster random sampling. RESULTS: The elderly who experienced incontinence in controlling urination had the potential of falling by 4 times compared to those who did not AOR = 3.73; 95% CI (1.038–13.428). Furthermore, those who had history of falling in the past 12 months were 2.4 times exposed compared to those who had not fallen AOR = 2.438; 95% CI (1.219–4.875). Balance disorders also contributed in increasing the risk of fall by 2 times with a value of AOR = 1.703; 95% CI (1.018–2.849). An extrinsic factor, namely, unsafe home environment has higher possibility to increase the risk of falling 2.6 times compared to those in safer environment (AOR = 2.603; 95% CI [1.331–5.087]). CONCLUSION: This study succeeded in identifying the risk factors for falls among the elderly in intrinsic and extrinsic approach. This finding can be used as a reference in planning health promotion programs for elderly people, specifically in the primary prevention of morbidity and mortality that occur due to falls.

Dynapenic Abdominal Obesity as a Risk Factor for Falls

BackgroundObesity and low muscle strength (dynapenia) are independently associated with greater falls risk. It remains unclear whether dynapenia and obesity have an additive effect on falls risk, greater than either phenotype alone. Objectives: To determine whether a combination of abdominal obesity with dynapenia, dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO), confers a greater risk of falls than either obesity or dynapenia alone in both men and women.DesignAn observational cohort study was conducted. Setting and Participants: Data from English adults (n=4239, 60–87 years) who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were included.MeasurementsDynapenia, was defined as hand-grip strength <20kg (female), <30kg (male). Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference >88cm (female), >102cm (male). Data on falls and fall-related injuries over a 2-year follow-up were collected. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed adjusting for age and sex, with results expressed as odds ratios (OR) and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).ResultsFalls occurred in 1049 participants, with 284 reporting a related injury during follow-up. DAO was associated with greater OR of falls in men (OR 2.1, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) 1.3–3.2). Dynapenia rather than obesity was associated with falls in women, with greatest OR observed in those with low hand-grip strength (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.7). Individual discrimination was low for measures of obesity or dynapenia either alone or in combination (AUC 0.51–0.58). There was no relationship between fall-related injuries and obesity or dynapenia.ConclusionOur findings suggest a synergistic effect of obesity with dynapenia on falls risk in men but not women.

Environmental hazards as risk factors for trips and slips at home among Japanese older people: A pilot study toward the development of a self-assessment tool for the home environment.

Housing structures differ according to the local culture, climate, and lifestyle, and these unique characteristics usually act as potential hazards for falls, trips, and slips. The purpose of this study was to identify environmental hazards in a Japanese house and their association with falls, trips, and slips among older people. A total of 97 older people aged ≥75 years were included in this cross-sectional study. The number of environmental hazards was measured using a 46-item tool designed specifically for this study, and the associations of environmental hazards with falls, trips, and slips were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. All houses had at least one environmental hazard, and 3-30 environmental hazards were identified. Although the number of environmental hazards was not associated with falls experienced during the past 6 months, a greater number of environmental hazards at home was correlated with the daily experience of trips and slips (odds ratio [OR]: 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.18). The association remained significant even after adjusting for demographic characteristics and other fall risk factors (OR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.02-1.21). We found that Japanese housing structures had unique environmental hazards that might cause trips and slips in older people. Appropriate housing assessments and modifications may help to promote aging-in-place among older people. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 305-310.

The effect of obesity on whole-body angular momentum during steady-state walking

BackgroundIndividuals with obesity demonstrate deficits in postural stability, leading to increased fall risks. Controlling whole-body angular momentum is essential for maintaining postural stability during walking and preventing falls. However, it is unknown how obesity impacts whole-body angular momentum during walking. Research purposeTo investigate the change in angular momentum about the body’s COM during walking in individuals with different degrees of obesity. MethodsThirty-eight young adults with different body mass index (BMI) scores walked barefoot at their preferred speed on a treadmill for 2 min. The whole-body angular momentum has been quantified from ground reaction force and moment data to capture the rotational behavior of walking in individuals with obesity without relying solely on placing markers on anatomical landmarks. ResultsWe found that adults with higher BMI scores walked slower with shorter step length, wider step width, and longer double support time (ps<.01). Ranges of the frontal- and transverse-plane angular momentum were greater in adults with higher BMI scores (ps<.01), while no difference was observed between BMI groups in the total sum of changes in whole-body angular momentum in any plane (ps>.05). SignificanceObesity not only decreased walking speed but also limited the ability to control mediolateral stability during walking. Investigating how obesity affects whole-body angular momentum may help better understand why adults with obesity have atypical gait with poor balance, address fall risk factors, and facilitate participation in physical activities.