Abstract
Objective:
Overweight individuals sway more than normal weight individuals. Major weight loss improves their balance control despite a related decrease in muscle strength. Presumably, muscular strength is an important factor for balance control. This study investigated the effect that a change in body mass has on relative strength and balance control.
Methodology:
Force (isometric knee extension) and balance control (center of pressure speed and range) were studied in three groups; normal weight (BMI <25 kg m−2), obese (30 kg m−2 <BMI< 40 kg m−2) and excess obese (BMI >40 kg m−2) Caucasian male individuals.
Results:
The excess obese individuals who underwent bariatric surgery as a weight loss strategy were studied before, 3 and 12 months after losing on average, 66.9 kg (±95% CI 55.8, 77.9 kg; on average, 45% of their weight). The obese individuals who underwent diet modifications were studied before dieting and when resistance to weight loss occurred after losing on average 11.7 kg (±95% CI 9.3, 14.2 kg; on average, 12% of their weight). The control group was studied twice, 50 weeks apart. In obese and excess obese individuals, losing weight reduced absolute knee muscular strength on average, by 8.2 kg (±95% CI 3.9, 12.5 kg; on average, 10% of their strength) and 23.9 kg (±95% CI 12.1, 35.8 kg; on average, 33% of their strength). However, it also increased balance control measured with speed of the center of foot pressure, on average, by 0.10 cm s–1 (±95% CI 0.05, 0.14 cm s–1; or increased of 12%) and 0.28 cm s–1 (±95% CI 0.07, 0.47 cm s–1; increased of 27%), respectively. Relative strength increased approximately by 22% for only the excess obese group 12 months post surgery.
Conclusion:
This suggests, in overweight individuals, weight loss is more efficient at improving balance control than increasing, or even maintaining muscle strength. In these individuals, training programs aimed at improving balance control should primarily target weight loss.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gerrits KH, Beltman MJ, Koppe PA, Konijnenbelt H, Elich PD, de Haan A et al. Isometric muscle function of knee extensors and the relation with functional performance in patients with stroke. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2009; 90: 480–487.
Lord SR, Allen GM, Williams P, Gandevia SC . Risk of falling: predictors based on reduced strength in persons previously affected by polio. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002; 83: 757–763.
Mackey DC, Robinovitch SN . Mechanisms underlying age-related differences in ability to recover balance with the ankle strategy. Gait Posture 2006; 23: 59–68.
Pijnappels M, Reeves ND, Maganaris CN, van Dieen JH . Tripping without falling; lower limb strength, a limitation for balance recovery and a target for training in the elderly. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2008; 18: 188–196.
Pijnappels M, van der Burg PJ, Reeves ND, van Dieen JH . Identification of elderly fallers by muscle strength measures. Eur J Appl Physiol 2008; 102: 585–592.
Fitzpatrick R, McCloskey DI . Proprioceptive, visual and vestibular thresholds for the perception of sway during standing in humans. J Physiol 1994; 478 (Part 1): 173–186.
Brauer SG, Burns YR, Galley P . A prospective study of laboratory and clinical measures of postural stability to predict community-dwelling fallers. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2000; 55: M469–M476.
Pajala S, Era P, Koskenvuo M, Kaprio J, Tormakangas T, Rantanen T . Force platform balance measures as predictors of indoor and outdoor falls in community-dwelling women aged 63–76 years. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2008; 63: 171–178.
Lord SR, Clark RD, Webster IW . Postural stability and associated physiological factors in a population of aged persons. J Gerontol 1991; 46: M69–M76.
Chen JS, March LM, Schwarz J, Zochling J, Makaroff J, Sitoh YY et al. A multivariate regression model predicted falls in residents living in intermediate hostel care. J Clin Epidemiol 2005; 58: 503–508.
Corbeil P, Simoneau M, Rancourt D, Tremblay A, Teasdale N . Increased risk for falling associated with obesity: mathematical modeling of postural control. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2001; 9: 126–136.
Era P, Schroll M, Ytting H, Gause-Nilsson I, Heikkinen E, Steen B . Postural balance and its sensory-motor correlates in 75-year-old men and women: a cross-national comparative study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1996; 51: M53–M63.
McGraw B, McClenaghan BA, Williams HG, Dickerson J, Ward DS . Gait and postural stability in obese and nonobese prepubertal boys. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000; 81: 484–489.
D'Hondt E, Deforche B, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Lenoir M . Childhood obesity affects fine motor skill performance under different postural constraints. Neurosci Lett 2008; 440: 72–75.
Deforche BI, Hills AP, Worringham CJ, Davies PS, Murphy AJ, Bouckaert JJ et al. Balance and postural skills in normal-weight and overweight prepubertal boys. Int J Pediatr Obes 2008; 29: 1–8.
Jang J, Hsiao KT, Hsiao-Wecksler ET . Balance (perceived and actual) and preferred stance width during pregnancy. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2008; 23: 468–476.
Butler EE, Colon I, Druzin ML, Rose J . Postural equilibrium during pregnancy: decreased stability with an increased reliance on visual cues. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2006; 195: 1104–1108.
Hue O, Simoneau M, Marcotte J, Berrigan F, Dore J, Marceau P et al. Body weight is a strong predictor of postural stability. Gait Posture 2007; 26: 32–38.
Teasdale N, Hue O, Marcotte J, Berrigan F, Simoneau M, Dore J et al. Reducing weight increases postural stability in obese and morbid obese men. Int J Obes (London) 2007; 31: 153–160.
Bouchard C (ed.) Physical Activity and Obesity, 1st edn. Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL, USA, 2000.
Pi-Sunyer FX . The obesity epidemic: pathophysiology and consequences of obesity. Obes Res 2002; 10 (Suppl 2): 97S–104S.
Kopelman PG . Obesity as a medical problem. Nature 2000; 404: 635–643.
Hue O, Berrigan F, Simoneau M, Marcotte J, Marceau P, Marceau S et al. Muscle force and force control after weight loss in obese and morbidly obese men. Obes Surg 2008; 18: 1112–1118.
Marceau P . Contribution of bariatric surgery to the comprehension of morbid obesity. Obes Surg 2005; 15: 3–10.
Marceau P, Hould FS, Simard S, Lebel S, Bourque RA, Potvin M et al. Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. World J Surg 1998; 22: 947–954.
Morasso PG, Schieppati M . Can muscle stiffness alone stabilize upright standing? J Neurophysiol 1999; 82: 1622–1626.
Winter DA, Patla AE, Prince F, Ishac M, Gielo-Perczak K . Stiffness control of balance in quiet standing. J Neurophysiol 1998; 80: 1211–1221.
Edwards WT . Effect of joint stiffness on standing stability. Gait Posture 2007; 25: 432–439.
Birtane M, Tuna H . The evaluation of plantar pressure distribution in obese and non-obese adults. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2004; 19: 1055–1059.
Riddiford-Harland DL, Steele JR, Storlien LH . Does obesity influence foot structure in prepubescent children? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 541–544.
Hills AP, Hennig EM, McDonald M, Bar-Or O . Plantar pressure differences between obese and non-obese adults: a biomechanical analysis. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001; 25: 1674–1679.
Kennedy PM, Inglis JT . Distribution and behaviour of glabrous cutaneous receptors in the human foot sole. J Physiol 2002; 538 (Part 3): 995–1002.
Vedel JP, Roll JP . Response to pressure and vibration of slowly adapting cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the human foot. Neurosci Lett 1982; 34: 289–294.
Rubenstein LZ . Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age Ageing 2006; 35 (Suppl 2): ii37–ii41.
Thelen DG, Schultz AB, Alexander NB, Ashton-Miller JA . Effects of age on rapid ankle torque development. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1996; 51: M226–M232.
Jadelis K, Miller ME, Ettinger Jr WH, Messier SP . Strength, balance, and the modifying effects of obesity and knee pain: results from the Observational Arthritis Study in Seniors (oasis). J Am Geriatr Soc 2001; 49: 884–891.
Maffiuletti NA, Agosti F, Proietti M, Riva D, Resnik M, Lafortuna CL et al. Postural instability of extremely obese individuals improves after a body weight reduction program entailing specific balance training. J Endocrinol Invest 2005; 28: 2–7.
Holliday PJ, Fernie GR, Gryfe CO, Griggs GT (eds.) Video Recording of Spontaneous Falls of the Elderly Slips, Stumbles, and Falls: Pedestrian Footwear and Surfaces 1990. American Society for Testing and Materials: Philadelphia.
Simoneau M, Corbeil P . The effect of time to peak ankle torque on balance stability boundary: experimental validation of a biomechanical model. Exp Brain Res 2005; 165: 217–228.
Maki BE, McIlroy WE . The control of foot placement during compensatory stepping reactions: does speed of response take precedence over stability? IEEE Trans Rehabil Eng 1999; 7: 80–90.
Acknowledgements
We thank all the participants for graciously donating their time. Special thanks to Paule Marceau and the surgeon team from the Department of Surgery at Laval Hospital, especially Drs Fredéric-Simon Hould, Stéfane Lebel, Simon Biron and Odette Lescelleur and to Marcel Kaszap for his programming expertise. This study was supported by a Collaborative Health Research Project (CHRP) of NSERC, NSERC Discovery grants of Canada and a FQRNT team grant (NT, AT, MS and PC).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Handrigan, G., Hue, O., Simoneau, M. et al. Weight loss and muscular strength affect static balance control. Int J Obes 34, 936–942 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.300
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.300
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Examining the joint coordination during dynamic balance learning using vector coding and statistical parametric mapping analyses
Scientific Reports (2024)
-
Impact of a Multicomponent Exercise Training Program on Muscle Strength After Bariatric Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Obesity Surgery (2024)
-
Chair squat performance as a potential predictor of nurses’ physical capabilities in ergonomic patient transfers
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
The effect of body mass reduction on functional stability in young obese women
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Effects of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Associated with Dynamic Exercise on Functional Capacity and Heart Rate Variability After Bariatric Surgery: a Randomized, Double-Blind, and Sham-Controlled Trial
Obesity Surgery (2020)