Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Auburn University, AL 36849-5346, USA.
Ergonomics. 2010 Jan;53(1):102-8. doi: 10.1080/00140130903311617.
Despite the prevalence of obesity, how obesity affects human physical capabilities is not well documented. As an effort toward addressing this, the current study investigated the obesity effect on joint range of motion (RoM) based on data collected from 20 obese and 20 non-obese males. In total, 30 inter-segmental motions occurring at the shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle joints and lumbar and cervical spine areas were examined. The obesity effect was found to be non-uniform across the joint motions. Obesity significantly reduced RoM for nine of the 30 motions: shoulder extensions and adductions, lumbar spine extension and lateral flexions and knee flexions. The largest significant RoM reduction was 38.9% for the left shoulder adduction. The smallest was 11.1% for the right knee flexion. The obesity-associated RoM reductions appear to be mainly due to the mechanical interposition and obstruction of inter-segmental motions caused by excess fat in the obese body. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Currently, obesity is prevalent worldwide and its prevalence is expected to increase continually in the near future. This study empirically characterised the obesity effects on joint RoM to provide better understanding of the physical capabilities of the obese. The study findings will facilitate designing man-artefact systems that accommodate obese individuals.
尽管肥胖普遍存在，但肥胖如何影响人体生理机能并没有得到很好的记录。为了应对这一问题，本研究基于从 20 名肥胖男性和 20 名非肥胖男性中收集的数据，调查了肥胖对关节活动度（RoM）的影响。总共检查了发生在肩部、肘部、膝部和踝关节以及腰椎和颈椎区域的 30 个节段间运动。结果发现，肥胖对 30 个运动中的 9 个产生了非均匀的影响：肩部伸展和内收、腰椎伸展和侧屈以及膝部弯曲。左侧肩部内收的 RoM 减少最大，为 38.9%。右侧膝部弯曲的 RoM 减少最小，为 11.1%。与肥胖相关的 RoM 减少似乎主要是由于肥胖者体内多余的脂肪对节段间运动的机械干扰和阻碍。相关性说明：目前，肥胖在全球范围内普遍存在，预计在不久的将来其患病率还会持续增加。本研究通过实证描述了肥胖对关节 RoM 的影响，以更好地了解肥胖者的身体机能。研究结果将有助于设计适应肥胖个体的人机系统。
