Phone users’ walk change

MOBILE phones cause people to change the way they walk, a study found.

Users adopt a cautious and exaggerated stepping strategy, which involves lifting the lead foot higher and slower over an obstacle to reduce the risk of tripping, Anglia Ruskin University discovered.

Dr Matthew Timmis said: “We look less frequently, and for less time, at the ground, but we adapt our visual search behaviour and our style of walking, so we’re able to negotiate obstacles safely.”