Effects of obesity on lower extremity muscle function during walking at two speeds.

ABSTRACT: Walking is a recommended form of physical activity for obese adults, yet the effects of obesity and walking speed on the biomechanics of walking are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine joint kinematics, muscle force requirements and individual muscle contributions to the walking ground reaction forces (GRFs) at two speeds (1.25 ms(-1) and 1.50 ms(-1)) in obese and nonobese adults. Vasti (VAS), gluteus medius (GMED), gastrocnemius (GAST), and soleus (SOL) forces and their contributions to the GRFs were estimated using three-dimensional musculoskeletal models scaled to the anthropometrics of nine obese (35.0 (3.78 kg m(-2))); body mass index mean (SD)) and 10 nonobese (22.1 (1.02 kg m(-2))) subjects. The obese individuals walked with a straighter knee in early stanc

SUBMITTER: Lerner ZF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3960344 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature