Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

6-10-2016

Abstract

Little research has examined the impact of infant adiposity on the quality of gross motor behavior, especially in sitting through measuring postural control. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of adiposity as measured by skinfold thickness (SFT) on postural control at the onset of sitting in typically developing infants. Nineteen infants (n=8 high SFT, n=11 lower SFT) participated in a pilot study examining the relationship between infant physical activity and postural control. High SFT was classified as having a subscapular and triceps measurement in the 85th percentile or above according to the WHO age and sex-specific standards. Infant’s postural control was measured within one week of the onset of sitting. Three trials of sitting were recorded while infants were sitting on an AMTI force platform and postural sway measures were recorded. Sway movement patterns were analyzed using the range for both the anterior/posterior (AP) and medial/lateral (ML) direction as well as sway path. The results revealed that there were no significant differences between infants in Range in the AP and ML directions. However, Sway Path was significantly different as infants with high SFT showed lower Sway Path values in comparison to lower SFT infants. These results suggest that infants with high SFT cover significantly less distance with their center of pressure than infants with lower SFT. This finding suggest that infants with more adiposity adopt a different postural control strategy. This altered strategy, may limit exploration early in development, which may hinder the progression of cognitive emotional and social processes, however more research is needed.

Comments

NASPSA 2016

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