Adherence to Walking on an Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill

Summary

Several barriers to exercise are present that need to be addressed. Morbidly obese individuals experience more skin friction, urinary stress incontinence, knee pain, low back pain, and hip arthritis than the lean population, which may significantly impair their ability to adhere to an exercise regimen (6). Obesity and overweight also contribute to greater perceived effort, oxygen uptake, and less pleasure during treadmill exercise sessions (7). Recent theories suggest that a negative experience associated with exercise can significantly reduce the likelihood of engaging in future exercise sessions (8). Therefore, tools to reduce these barriers may improve outcomes for exercise-based interventions for morbid obesity.

The Alter-G, an antigravity treadmill that alleviates body weight while subjects exercise, has potential to reduce pain and exertion during exercise. Overall, these treadmills have been found to be effective for weight loss in obese populations (10). However, although evidence suggests that the Alter-G would reduce pain and exertion, the effect of the Alter-G treadmill on exercise adherence in morbidly obese populations has not been studied.

The hypothesis is that the adherence to and progression of the exercise routine of participants walking at a reduced percentage of their body weight will increase relative to those who must exercise at 100% of their body weight.

A secondary hypothesis is that participants who use the Alter-G with the anti-gravity function will experience less pain and perceived exertion during exercise compared to those who exercise at 100% of their body weight.

Finally, the investigators hypothesize that increased exercise adherence in those using the anti-gravity function of the Alter-G will lead to increased fitness and improved muscle function.

Conditions

• Severe Obesity

Interventions

DEVICE

unweighting using Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill

The unweighted group (experimental) is allowed to self-select a comfortable unweighting using the weight control feature on the Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill. Both groups use the same Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill and both groups are about to self-select speed, incline, and duration.

DEVICE

normal weight using Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill

The weighted (control) group will walk at 100% their body weight using the Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill. Both groups use the same Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill and both groups are about to self-select speed, incline, and duration.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Texas Tech University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Emily Dhurandhar, PhD · Texas Tech University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-09-09

Primary Completion

2018-10-01

Completion

2018-10-01

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations