Gait characteristics of overweight and obese children with different ages

Overweight and obesity in childhood can cause some orthopedic problems and these problems may deteriorate as the age increases. Gait changes may reflect these problems. Currently there are very few studies on changes in gait characteristics of overweight and obese (OWO) children with different age. The purpose of this study was to investigate the gait changes of OWO children with different age. Gait parameters were measured by a footscan plantar pressure system. SPSS11.0 was used for statistical analysis. Significance was defined as α<;0.05. Results showed that 9-10-year-old OWO children had shorter heel strike duration, longer midstance duration, higher peak pressures under Metatarsal 2,4,5(M2, M4, M5), heel medial (HM) and heel lateral (HL), longer time to peak pressure under metatarsal1 (M1) and larger foot axis angle than 7-8-year-old OWO children. These changes can eventually cause many problems in the lower extremities. No significant differences were found for the duration of the heel strike phase and midstance phase, peak pressures and time to peak pressure under plantar regions and foot axis angle between the 9-10-year-old and 11-12-year-old OWO children. However, Pressure rate under HM was increased for 1112-year-old OWO children compared with 9-10-year-old OWO children.