Gait initiation and termination strategies in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.

Background: Gait Initiation (GI) is a functional task representing one of the first voluntary destabilizing behaviours observed in the development of a locomotor pattern as the whole body centre of mass transitions from a large to a small base of support. Conversely, Gait Termination (GT) consists in the transition from walking to standing which, in everyday life, is a very common movement. Compared to normal walking, it requires higher control of postural stability.

Computation of spatio-temporal parameters in level walking using a single inertial system in lean and obese adolescents.

In recent years, the availability of low-cost equipment capable of recording kinematic data during walking has facilitated the outdoor assessment of gait parameters, thus overcoming the limitations of three-dimensional instrumented gait analysis (3D-GA). The aim of this study is twofold: firstly, to investigate whether a single sensor on the lower trunk could provide valid spatio-temporal parameters in level walking in normal-weight and obese adolescents compared to instrumented gait analysis (GA); secondly, to investigate whether the inertial sensor is capable of capturing the spatio-temporal features of obese adolescent gait. These were assessed in 10 obese and 8 non-obese adolescents using both a single inertial sensor on the lower trunk and an optoelectronic system.

Effects of muscle composition and architecture on specific strength in obese older women.

What is the central question of this study? Do obesity-specific factors affect skeletal muscle performance in older individuals? What is the main finding and its importance? Older obese women have a larger quadriceps femoris size but develop lower tension per unit of skeletal muscle than their normal-weight counterparts. Muscle impairment and excess body mass are very common among older people. Given that the effect of obesity on strength production has scarcely been studied in older individuals, we analysed functional and structural characteristics of quadriceps femoris (QF) in obese (OB) and normal-weight (NW) older women with comparable habitual physical activity.

Center of pressure displacements during gait initiation in individuals with obesity.

Background: Obesity is known to affect balance and gait pattern increasing the risk of fall and injury as compared to the lean population. Such risk is particularly high during postural transitions. Gait initiation (GI) is a transient procedure between static upright posture and steady-state locomotion, which includes anticipatory antero-posterior and lateral movements.

Impact of fibromyalgia on functioning in obese patients undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation.

A possible link between fibromyalgia (FM) and obesity has been recently suggested but very scanty data on the prevalence of FM in obese populations are available. The aims of the present cross-sectional study were: 1) to estimate the prevalence of FM in a population of obese patients undergoing rehabilitation and 2) to investigate the effect of FM on obese patients' functional capacities. One hundred and thirty Italian obese (Body Mass Index, BMI ≥ 30) patients admitted to hospital for 1-month rehabilitation treatment took part in the study.