Reducing Fall Risks for Adults With Obesity
- Conditions
- Bariatric Surgery CandidateGait, UnsteadyObesity
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Obstacle crossing intervention for adults with obesity
- Registration Number
- NCT03558100
- Lead Sponsor
- Boston University Charles River Campus
- Brief Summary
The objective of the clinical study was to examine if practice could improve walking patterns associated with fall risks before patients with obesity underwent weight loss surgery. We hypothesized that patients would show improvements in their walking after completing the intervention. For the intervention, patients walked under five conditions: on flat ground at the beginning of the study, crossing three obstacle heights, and on flat ground at the end of the study for a total of 25 times.
- Detailed Description
Obesity has a negative impact on aspects of walking associated with fall risks. After weight loss surgery, adults show improvements in walking. However, those who undergo surgery still show deficits in walking and an additional group of individuals do not undergo the procedure. Our objective was to examine if practice could improve gait patterns associated with fall risks before patients underwent weight loss surgery. Adults with obese body mass index between 30 to 60 years old who were eligible to undergo the Roux-en-Y weight loss surgery procedure walked under five conditions: initial baseline walking on flat ground, crossing three obstacle heights, and final baseline walking on flat ground for a total of 25 trials. Spatio-temporal gait parameters were collected using a gait carpet and body-worn sensors. The GAITRite mat was a 4.9 m long x 0.6 m wide pressure-sensitive mat with a temporal resolution of 120 Hz and a spatial resolution of 1.3 cm. LEGSysTM includes five wearable sensors containing triaxial gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers. Dependent variables selected included velocity (cm/s), cadence (steps/minute), step length (distance between consecutive steps), step width (lateral distance between feet), single limb support time (amount of time spent on one leg during the walking cycle), and double limb support time (amount of time spend on two legs during the walking cycle).
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 100
- between 30 and 60 years old
- eligible to undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery
- walk independently without assistive devices
- scheduled to undergo knee surgery
- receiving dialysis
- being treated for cancer
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- SINGLE_GROUP
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Reducing Fall Risks in Obesity Obstacle crossing intervention for adults with obesity Adults with obesity will be asked to perform the obstacle crossing intervention for adults with obesity for reducing falls risk. This will involve crossing obstacles of different heights under five conditions: initial baseline walking on flat ground, crossing three obstacle heights, and final baseline walking on flat ground for a total of 25 trials. Spatio-temporal gait parameters will be collected using a gait carpet and body-worn sensors.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Velocity (cm/s) The change from baseline velocity (cm/s) at 12 months walking speed
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method double limb support time (msec) The change from baseline double limb support time (msec) at 12 months time spent balancing on both legs
Cadence (steps per minute) The change from baseline cadence (steps per minute) at 12 months steps per minute
single limb support time (msec) The change from baseline single limb support time (msec) at 12 months time spent balancing on one leg
step length (cm) The change from baseline step length (cm) at 12 months distance between consecutive steps
Step width (cm) The change from baseline step width (cm) at 12 months lateral distance between feet