Do aging suits adequately simulate objective age-related decline in gait? A kinematic comparison of induced aging in young and middle-aged adults.
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| Title: | Do aging suits adequately simulate objective age-related decline in gait? A kinematic comparison of induced aging in young and middle-aged adults. |
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| Authors: | Gerhardy, Thomas H. (AUTHOR), Schmidt, Laura I. (AUTHOR), Wahl, Hans-Werner (AUTHOR), Mombaur, Katja (AUTHOR), Sloot, Lizeth H. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Educational Gerontology. Jan2026, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p26-40. 15p. |
| Subjects: | Reference values, Ankle, Clothing & dress, Cognitive testing, Task performance, Research funding, Spatial behavior, Body mass index, T-test (Statistics), Data analysis, Two-way analysis of variance, Parameters (Statistics), Diagnosis, Gait in humans, Age distribution, Descriptive statistics, Simulation methods in education, Hip joint, Mathematical statistics, Aging, Statistics, Digital video, Comparative studies, Walking speed, Data analysis software, Knee, Physical activity, Grip strength, Range of motion of joints, Motion capture (Human mechanics), Adults, Middle age |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| Abstract: | Background and Objectives: Aging suits are widely used as arguably didactic tool to foster understanding for age-related challenges in healthcare training by mimicking physical impairments associated with aging. However, effects on functional levels are ambiguous and necessitating validation of their potential to simulate age-related walking impairments. We evaluated effects of wearing an aging suit on kinematic gait variables, in younger and middle-aged adults in different walking conditions. Available reference data were used to compare aging-suit induced effects to standard and dual-task walking in older adults. Research Design and Methods: Whole-body kinematics (sagittal ankle-, knee-, hip-angles, arm-swing, trunk-bend) and spatiotemporal parameters (walking speed, stride length, step width) were measured in 14 young (20–34 years) and 15 middle-aged adults (40–63 years). SPM analysis and mixed ANOVA were conducted to evaluate the effects of the suit, age-group and their interaction. Results: Overall, wearing the aging suit changed gait patterns, but kinematic parameters were hardly affected in both groups. During standard walking, arm-swing decreased by 17%, walking speed by 9%, and step width increased by 15% across both groups. Compared to reference data, changes in arm-swing corresponded to an instant aging effect of 45–55 years in young and 15–25 years in middle-aged adults. Discussion and Implications: The aging suit changed gait patterns considerably making both groups walk more cautiously compared to reference values of older adults. However, performance deficits seen in individuals 80+ years were clearly not attained. Caution is advised when using aging suits as an educational tool to simulate age-related walking impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Background and Objectives: Aging suits are widely used as arguably didactic tool to foster understanding for age-related challenges in healthcare training by mimicking physical impairments associated with aging. However, effects on functional levels are ambiguous and necessitating validation of their potential to simulate age-related walking impairments. We evaluated effects of wearing an aging suit on kinematic gait variables, in younger and middle-aged adults in different walking conditions. Available reference data were used to compare aging-suit induced effects to standard and dual-task walking in older adults. Research Design and Methods: Whole-body kinematics (sagittal ankle-, knee-, hip-angles, arm-swing, trunk-bend) and spatiotemporal parameters (walking speed, stride length, step width) were measured in 14 young (20–34 years) and 15 middle-aged adults (40–63 years). SPM analysis and mixed ANOVA were conducted to evaluate the effects of the suit, age-group and their interaction. Results: Overall, wearing the aging suit changed gait patterns, but kinematic parameters were hardly affected in both groups. During standard walking, arm-swing decreased by 17%, walking speed by 9%, and step width increased by 15% across both groups. Compared to reference data, changes in arm-swing corresponded to an instant aging effect of 45–55 years in young and 15–25 years in middle-aged adults. Discussion and Implications: The aging suit changed gait patterns considerably making both groups walk more cautiously compared to reference values of older adults. However, performance deficits seen in individuals 80+ years were clearly not attained. Caution is advised when using aging suits as an educational tool to simulate age-related walking impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 03601277 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03601277.2025.2468470 |
