Impacts of Adiposity on the Attentional Cost of Sensory-Motor Performance Associated with Mobility in a Dual-Task Paradigm

(1) Background: Obesity is one of the most prevalent health problems worldwide. Studies have evidenced that the increase in body weight affects the normal neuromusculoskeletal function, which leads to abnormal gait patterns and impaired balance. (2) Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of dual-task activity (cognitive-motor task) on gait parameters and balance among obese students. (3) Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students (18-28 years old), including 120 obese and 120 age-matched normal-weight control subjects, selected at random using simple random sampling, from the Majmaah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Jizan regions of Saudi Arabia. The gait speed was measured in seconds while the controls and the obese subjects performed a dual-task activity of walking down a level, well-lit, narrow lane at their own speed, counting backwards from 100 by 4 s. (4) Results: The results of our study suggest a significant difference in the effect of the dual-task paradigm on the gait speed (t = 21.05, p = 000) of obese participants when compared to their age-matched counterparts. A significant correlation was found between BMI and gait speed and balance, irrespective of the gender of the obese student. A high degree of positive correlation (r = 0.705, p < 0.001) was found between BMI and gait speed, and a high degree of inverse correlation (r = -0.648, p < 0.001) was found between BMI and balance among obese students A multiple regression model explained 60% of the variance in gait speed and was statistically significant (R-2 = 0.60, F (4, 235) = 90.65, p = 0.000) with BMI (beta = 0.018, p = 0.000) and balance (beta = 0.015, p = 0.000) significantly predicting gait speed. (5) Conclusion: The results of the current study provide evidence that obesity significantly influences gait speed and balance due to the inclusion of a contemporaneous cognitive task. The results also suggest that the dual-task paradigm affects both genders equally.