Obesity Alters Balance and Movement Control

Abstract

Epidemic excess of weight is considered as a critical and common health problem. It is associated with many physiological and psychological disorders. Other than metabolic problems, obesity also affects the efficient execution of daily living activities such as the simple act of standing, walking or grabbing an object while standing. This article aims at presenting a state of knowledge of recent studies illustrating the detrimental effect of obesity and the beneficial effect of weight loss on postural stability and on the speed and accuracy of upper-limb goal-directed movements performed from a standing posture. Evidence supporting the suggestion that greater strength and training, at least for standing conditions, do not overcome the functional limitations imposed by obesity are presented. It is suggested that obese individuals may suffer from a reduced plantar sole sensitivity. As a conclusion to this work, we confirm the deleterious effect of overweight on motor control as weight loss translates into an improved balance control and upper limb speed-accuracy performance when standing. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.