Human Balance during Gait for Normal and Fasting Subjects: A Biomechanical Study

Abstract

Fasting is the act of consuming no foods and drinks in a period of time. This study investigated whether fasting can be the reason that leads to inability to sustain balance during gait. Kinetic and kinematic parameters were measured in i) walking assessment ii) spin and walk assessment at i) normal and ii) fasting conditions. The parameters include frontal body posture, vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF), hip bending angles, knee angles, ankle angles and vertical center of gravity (VCOG). Eight male and eight female subjects aged 22 to 25 years had involved in this study. Five Oqus camera integrated with Qualysis Track Manager Software had been used for data acquisition and analysis purpose. All the measurements were taken during loading response phase of gait cycle. Then all of the raw data except for frontal body posture were further analyzed using SPSS V17 to determine significance and correlation among the parameters. The results yields that there is no significant different between fasting and normal conditions for either i) walking or ii) spins and walk assessment. However, comparison between male and female shows that male subject have higher value of VGRF and VCOG compared to female subject. This is due to the height and weight difference between the genders. As a conclusion, fasting has given no significant effects on human balance during gait either for male or female.