Purpose: To investigate the frontal and sagittal plane lower extremity biomechanics during drop jump landings in boys who were obese and boys who were of healthy weight.
Methods: Twelve boys participated, 6 were considered as healthy weight (body mass index for age <85%, age 11.0 +/- 0.8 years), and 6 were considered as obese (body mass index for age >95%, age 12.1 +/- 0.7 years). Three-dimensional data were collected during landing from a drop jump. Group means were compared using Student t tests (alpha = 0.05).
Results: Significant differences were found in peak hip adduction moment, timing of peak dorsiflexion and knee flexion angles, and timing of peak knee extension and abduction moments.
Conclusions: Boys who were obese exhibited significant differences in frontal and sagittal plane biomechanics when landing from a jump compared with healthy weight peers. These differences could place boys who are obese at greater risk for lower extremity injuries when they engage in jump-landing activities.