Understanding the Influence of Context on Real-World Walking Energetics

Abstract

Speeds that minimize energetic cost during steady-state walking have been observed during lab-based investigations of walking biomechanics and energetics. However, in real-world scenarios, humans walk in various contexts that elicit different walking strategies, which may not always prioritize minimizing energetic cost. To investigate whether individuals tend to select energetically optimal speeds in real-world situations and how contextual factors influence gait, we conducted a study combining data from lab and real-world experiments. Walking kinematics and context were measured during daily life over a week (N = 17) using wearable sensors and a mobile phone. To determine context, we utilized self-reported activity logs, GPS data, and follow-up exit interviews. Additionally, we estimated energetic cost using respirometry over a range of gait speeds in the lab. Cost of transport during these trials was used to identify an energetically optimal walking speed range for each participant. The proportion of real world steady-state stride speeds within this range was identified for all data and for each context. We found that participants walked significantly faster than what was energetically optimal, and the proportion of steady-state strides within the energetically optimal speed range was dependent on the context. On average, 45.6% of all steady-state stride speeds were energetically optimal across all contexts for all participants. These results suggest that while energetic cost is a factor considered by humans when selecting gait speed in daily life, it is not the sole determining factor. Context contributes to the observed variability in movement parameters both within and between individuals.