THE MOMENT OF THE HIP AND KNEE IN OBESE AND NON-OBESE INDIVIDUALS DURING STAIR ASCENT AND DESCENT

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a difference in the knee and hip joint moment between obese and normal weight subjects during stair climbing. One normal weight female participant and one overweight female articipant were recruited to perform a series of stair ascent and descent. The 3-D kinetic data were collected using 9 infrared cameras and 4 force plates. Both the overweight and normal weight participants had similar peak hip extensor moments during ascent. Their peak hip flexor moment, however, was significantly different in the obese subjects (0.19 (Nm/kg)/m) than in the normal weight subjects (0.18 (Nm/kg)/m) during descent. Furthermore, the obese subjects had a higher adduction moment than the normal weight subject during ascent (obese: -0.26 (Nm/kg)/m, normal: -0.38 (Nm/kg)/m).