I was looking for an article about why fat people walk the way they did when I realized that there really aren’t any articles explaining this phenomenon. It’s a question that has plagued humanity for centuries. What causes fat people to waddle rather than walk like slim people?
I did a little bit of research into it and found the answer to the question.
Why do fat people waddle?
The answer to this question varies from person to person. Still, for most obese individuals, the fat on their bodies is heavy, and they usually have lower muscle strength in their legs to balance their weight, making it difficult to walk like a normal person.
So in stark contrast to the graceful walk of those who are not obese, people with extreme obesity that don’t take advantage of a heavy-duty walking cane or a bariatric rolling walker often have an ungainly and awkward walking style, aka Waddling.
As an overweight person, our feet take on a lot more stress than the average person’s. They have estimated that every additional pound of body weight puts three pounds of force on our feet when we walk and more than doubles to a whopping seven pounds when running.
So in my case, as a guy weighing 300+ pounds, I’m putting 900 pounds of force on my feet when walking. And if I decided to run, I’d be exerting 2,100 pounds of force. These are astonishing numbers, so it’s no surprise that obese people waddle as if we walked normally, we’d likely end up injuring ourselves.
To Sum it Up…
An obese person’s feet will be under more pressure and are more likely to be worn down, which means they experience pain when walking. As such, they try to find the most comfortable way to walk, which is by waddling. Moreover, excess weight can lead to foot problems such as the feet splaying and the arch of one’s foot flattening, which changes the way an obese person walks.