INFLUENCE OF BODY WEIGHT ON JOINT LOADING IN STAIR CLIMBING

Abstract

Exercise is an essential treatment in childhood obesity. Due to the low impact on joint loading exercise recommendations are aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling and walking (Hassink et al, 2008). Little is known though about the effect of adiposity on the function of the locomotor system (Wearing et al., 2006). Only limited research has been done on obese gait in children (Nantel et al. 2006) and even less is known about other weight bearing tasks such as climbing stairs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influences of obesity on the load pattern of the lower extremity joints of obese children while ascending and descending stairs.