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Excess Body Weight Loss is Associated with Nonpathological Gait Patterns in Women 4 to 5 Years After Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Background

This study examined relationships between excess body weight (EBW) loss and current gait and functional status in women 5 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Methods

Gait data were analyzed in nine female bariatric patients for relationships with longitudinal changes in weight, body composition, and physical function assessed by the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA) questionnaire and the timed “get-up-and-go” (TGUG) test. Gait characteristics in the bariatric sample were also compared to an age- and BMI-matched nonsurgical reference sample from the Fels Longitudinal Study.

Results

Bariatric patients lost an average of 36.4 kg (61.1 %) of EBW between preoperative and 5-year follow-up visits (P < 0.01); SMFA function index scores and TGUG times also decreased (both P < 0.01). Degree of EBW loss was correlated with less time spent in initial double support and more time in single support (both P = 0.02), and for all gait variables, the bariatric sample fell within the 95 % confidence intervals of gait/EBW relationships in the reference sample.

Conclusions

Gait and function 5 years after bariatric surgery were characteristic of current weight, not preoperative obesity, suggesting that substantial, sustained recovery of physical function is possible with rapid surgical weight loss.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants. The study was funded by a grant from the Department of Community Health, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Conflict of Interest

None of the authors declare any conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, 3171 Research Blvd., Kettering, OH, 45420, USA

    Andrew W. Froehle, Richard J. Sherwood & Dana L. Duren

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, 30 E. Apple St., Suite 2200, Dayton, OH, 45409, USA

    Richard T. Laughlin & Dana L. Duren

  3. Department of Surgery, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, 128 E. Apple St., Dayton, OH, 45409, USA

    Donovan D. Teel II

  4. Premier Metabolic and Bariatric Associates, Miami Valley Hospital, 30 E. Apple St., Dayton, OH, 45409, USA

    Donovan D. Teel II

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, One Children’s Plaza, Dayton, OH, 45404, USA

    Richard J. Sherwood

Authors
  1. Andrew W. Froehle
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  2. Richard T. Laughlin
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  3. Donovan D. Teel II
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  4. Richard J. Sherwood
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  5. Dana L. Duren
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Correspondence to Andrew W. Froehle.

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Froehle, A.W., Laughlin, R.T., Teel, D.D. et al. Excess Body Weight Loss is Associated with Nonpathological Gait Patterns in Women 4 to 5 Years After Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 24, 253–259 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-013-1069-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-013-1069-x

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