Comparison of the metabolic energy cost of overground and treadmill walking in older adults

We assessed whether the metabolic energy cost of walking was higher when measured overground or on a treadmill in a population of healthy older adults. We also assessed the association between the two testing modes. Participants (n = 20, 14 men and 6 women aged between 65 and 83 years of age) were randomly divided into two groups. Half of them went through the overground–treadmill sequence while the other half did the opposite order. A familiarization visit was held for each participant prior to the actual testing. For both modes of testing, five walking speeds were experimented (0.67, 0.89, 1.11, 1.33 and 1.67 m s−1). Oxygen uptake was monitored for all walking speeds. We found a significant difference between treadmill and track metabolic energy cost of walking, whatever the walking speed. The results show that walking on the treadmill requires more metabolic energy than walking overground for all experimental speeds (P < 0.05). The association between both measures was low to moderate (0.17 < ICC < 0.65), and the standard error of measurement represented 6.9–15.7% of the average value. These data indicate that metabolic energy cost of walking results from a treadmill test does not necessarily apply in daily overground activities. Interventions aiming at reducing the metabolic energy cost of walking should be assessed with the same mode as it was proposed during the intervention. If the treadmill mode is necessary for any purposes, functional overground walking tests should be implemented to obtain a more complete and specific evaluation.

[1]  R. Kram,et al.  Metabolic cost of generating muscular force in human walking: insights from load-carrying and speed experiments. , 2003, Journal of applied physiology.

[2]  Philip E. Martin,et al.  Effects of age and physical activity status on the speed-aerobic demand relationship of walking. , 1992, Journal of applied physiology.

[3]  W. Vincent Statistics In Kinesiology , 1994 .

[4]  Jaap Harlaar,et al.  Methodological considerations for improving the reproducibility of walking efficiency outcomes in clinical gait studies. , 2008, Gait & posture.

[5]  D. Currier,et al.  Elements of Research in Physical Therapy , 1984 .

[6]  S. Fisher,et al.  Energy cost of ambulation with crutches. , 1981, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[7]  G Atkinson,et al.  Statistical Methods For Assessing Measurement Error (Reliability) in Variables Relevant to Sports Medicine , 1998, Sports medicine.

[8]  F. Alton,et al.  A kinematic comparison of overground and treadmill walking. , 1998, Clinical biomechanics.

[9]  Philip E. Martin,et al.  Characteristic Patterns of Gait in the Healthy Old , 1988, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[10]  Michael E. Miller,et al.  Reliability of the 400‐M Usual‐Pace Walk Test as an Assessment of Mobility Limitation in Older Adults , 2004, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[11]  Kevin Currell,et al.  Validity, Reliability and Sensitivity of Measures of Sporting Performance , 2008, Sports medicine.

[12]  H. Ralston,et al.  Comparison of energy expenditure during treadmill walking and floor walking. , 1960, Journal of applied physiology.

[13]  B. Munro Statistical methods for health care research , 1986 .

[14]  S. Fisher,et al.  Energy cost of ambulation in health and disability: a literature review. , 1978, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[15]  F. D. Pereira,et al.  Between-day variability of net and gross oxygen uptake during graded treadmill walking: effects of different walking intensities on the reliability of locomotion economy. , 2008, Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme.

[16]  Jeffrey M. Hausdorff,et al.  adults: a randomized controlled trial of exercise Etiology and modification of gait instability in older , 2005 .

[17]  S. Studenski,et al.  A randomized trial of two forms of therapeutic activity to improve walking: effect on the energy cost of walking. , 2009, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences.

[18]  E. Rhodes,et al.  Oxygen Uptake Kinetics During Exercise , 1999, Sports medicine.

[19]  D. Malatesta,et al.  Aerobic determinants of the decline in preferred walking speed in healthy, active 65- and 80-year-olds , 2004, Pflügers Archiv.

[20]  A. Minetti,et al.  Effect of a 12-month physical conditioning programme on the metabolic cost of walking in healthy older adults , 2007, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[21]  J. Hamill,et al.  The force-driven harmonic oscillator as a model for human locomotion , 1990 .

[22]  H. Beydaği,et al.  Determination of preferred walking speed on treadmill may lead to high oxygen cost on treadmill walking. , 2010, Gait & posture.

[23]  A. Minetti,et al.  Metabolic cost, mechanical work, and efficiency during walking in young and older men , 2006, Acta physiologica.

[24]  M. Schwartz,et al.  Walking energy expenditure in able-bodied individuals: a comparison of common measures of energy efficiency. , 2009, Gait & posture.

[25]  W G Hopkins,et al.  Measures of Reliability in Sports Medicine and Science , 2000, Sports medicine.

[26]  J. Weir Quantifying test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the SEM. , 2005, Journal of strength and conditioning research.

[27]  J. Hamill,et al.  Energetic Cost and Stability during Human Walking at the Preferred Stride Frequency , 1995 .

[28]  Laurent Bosquet,et al.  Comparison of gas exchange data using the Aquatrainer® system and the facemask with Cosmed K4b2 during exercise in healthy subjects , 2010, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[29]  J. Hamill,et al.  Energetic Cost and Stability During Human Walking at the Preferred Stride Velocity. , 1995, Journal of motor behavior.

[30]  Marsha P. Johnson Statistical Methods for Health Care Research , 1996 .

[31]  Brenda Brouwer,et al.  Kinematic, kinetic and metabolic parameters of treadmill versus overground walking in healthy older adults. , 2009, Clinical biomechanics.

[32]  James E. Graham,et al.  Relationship between test methodology and mean velocity in timed walk tests: a review. , 2008, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[33]  R. Wiswell,et al.  Rate and Mechanism of Maximal Oxygen Consumption Decline with Aging , 2003, Sports medicine.

[34]  N. Hagemeister,et al.  Habituation to treadmill walking. , 2006, Bio-medical materials and engineering.

[35]  J. Hamill,et al.  Predicting the minimal energy costs of human walking. , 1991, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[36]  B. R. Umberger,et al.  Stance and swing phase costs in human walking , 2010, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[37]  W Jack Rejeski,et al.  Effect of treadmill and overground walking on function and attitudes in older adults. , 2006, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[38]  James E. Graham,et al.  Assessing walking speed in clinical research: a systematic review. , 2008, Journal of evaluation in clinical practice.

[39]  V Bunc,et al.  Energy cost of treadmill walking. , 1997, The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness.

[40]  B W Armstrong,et al.  Metabolic cost of walking: equation and model. , 1986, Journal of applied physiology.

[41]  M. Pearce,et al.  Energy cost of treadmill and floor walking at self-selected paces , 2004, European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology.

[42]  D J Macfarlane,et al.  Automated Metabolic Gas Analysis Systems , 2001, Sports medicine.

[43]  D. Pyne,et al.  Factors Affecting Running Economy in Trained Distance Runners , 2004, Sports medicine.

[44]  Mark Snaterse,et al.  Distinct fast and slow processes contribute to the selection of preferred step frequency during human walking. , 2011, Journal of applied physiology.