THE KINETIC ANALYSIS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF NORMAL WEIGHT, OVERWEIGHT & OBESE INDIVIDUALS DURING STAIR ASCENT & DESCENT

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a difference in the joint moment of force between normal weight, overweight and obese participants during stair climbing. In all, 19 normal weight participants, 18 overweight participants, and 8 obese participants were recruited to perform a series of stair ascent and descent. The 3-D kinetic data were collected using 10 cameras and 4 force plates. The peak knee extensor moment was significantly higher (p=0.026) in the overweight than in the normal weight participants during descent. The obese participants also had a higher ankle abductor moment than the normal (p=0.031) and overweight participants (p=0.002) during descent. The findings from the study confirm stair climbing results in higher loading at the knee in obese/overweight individuals, which could be a potential mechanism of osteoarthritis.