journal articles
EVALUATION OF THE BALANCE OF OBESE AND NON-OBESE ELDERLY WOMEN BY COMPUTED DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY
E.B.Mantello, M.A. Hyppolito, E. Ferriolli, N.K. da Costa Lima, J.C. Moriguti
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2014;3(4):206-210
Background: One of the main factors that currently limit the life of the elderly is the imbalance. Computed dynamic posturography, assesses the oscillation of the body by recording the pressure exerted by the feet on the force platform, and allows analyzing the postural reactions secondary to the shift of body weight. Objectives: Evaluate and compare the balance of obese and non-obese elderly women without vestibular symptoms by computed dynamic posturography. Design: prospective trial. Setting: data collected in a university hospital. Participants: 50 elderly females divided into 2 groups according to body mass index (BMI), between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2 for the non-obese group and greater than 30 kg/m2 for the obese group. Intervention: the participants were submitted to the Synapsys Static & Dynamic Posturography® test. Measurements: Sensory Organization Test calculates the average proprioceptive, visual and vestibular functions. Data were analyzed statistically by the Fisher exact test. Results: significant differences were observed between the obese and non-obese subjects regarding: maximum amplitude of the anteroposterior displacement of the patient with eyes open and closed, length and surface area used by the patient with eyes open, energy spent with eyes open and closed, proprioceptive activity in the anteroposterior direction, and vestibular activity in the lateral direction. There were a higher percentage of changes in the anteroposterior tests compared to the lateral tests in the obese subjects. Conclusion: The obesity interferes with the body balance in elderly women, especially in situations that require postural control in the AP direction, proprioceptive cues in the AP direction and vestibular cues in the LAT direction.
CITATION:
E.B.Mantello ; M.A. Hyppolito ; E. Ferriolli ; N.K. da Costa Lima ; J.C. Moriguti (2014): EVALUATION OF THE BALANCE OF OBESE AND NON-OBESE ELDERLY WOMEN BY COMPUTED DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY. The Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice (JARCP). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jarcp.2014.36