Background: Vision is a key sensory system for postural regulation; however, the effects of degraded visual input and complete visual occlusion on static balance are not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to compare postural control during single-leg stance under two reduced-vision conditions (eyes open in darkness vs. complete visual occlusion) in healthy young adults and examine the potential influence of sex and mild visual deficits. Materials and Methods: This within-subject laboratory study included 42 healthy young adults (21 males, 21 females; mean age 20.67 ± 0.48 years). Participants performed three valid 20 s single-leg stance trials on a force platform under two visual conditions: eyes open in darkness and complete visual occlusion using an opaque mask. The order of conditions was randomized and counterbalanced, and the mean value of the three valid trials under each condition was used for analysis. Postural sway outcome variables included CoP Area, Oscillation Width, Oscillation Height, Total Displacement, and Mean Velocity. A two-way mixed-design ANOVA examined the effects of visual condition and sex. Additional mixed ANCOVA analyses were performed using body weight as a covariate to verify whether the sex-related findings remained after adjustment for body weight. Exploratory subgroup analyses based on mild visual deficits were performed using independent-samples t-tests. Results: No significant overall main effect of visual condition was observed for any postural sway variable (all p > 0.05). However, a significant condition × sex interaction was found for CoP Area (F(1,40) = 9.910, p = 0.003, η²p = 0.199), indicating different response patterns between males and females across conditions. Significant main effects of sex were also found for Total Displacement (F(1,40) = 9.212, p = 0.004, η²p = 0.187) and Mean Velocity (F(1,40) = 9.090, p = 0.004, η²p = 0.185), with males showing higher values overall. The sex-related findings for CoP Area, Total Displacement, and Mean Velocity remained significant after adjustment for body weight. No significant sex effects were found for Oscillation Width or Oscillation Height, and no significant differences were observed between participants with and without mild visual deficits in either condition (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Altered visual input did not produce a uniform overall effect on postural sway during single-leg stance in healthy young adults. Instead, the findings indicate a more differentiated pattern, with a sex-specific response for CoP Area and overall sex-related differences in Total Displacement and Mean Velocity that were not explained by body weight. Mild visual deficits were not associated with significant balance alterations under the present experimental conditions. These findings support a more nuanced interpretation of postural regulation under reduced visual input and highlight the importance of considering individual characteristics, particularly sex, in balance assessment.

Introduction: Postural control is a crucial ability for producing functional movement, and it has been shown to help with both injury prevention and sports performance. In this context, there has been an increasing interest in the connection between balance and somatotype; however, the evidence remains inconsistent. Materials and Methods: In this study, 18 healthy and active university students took part (3 men and 3 women for each somatotype). They were asked to stand on one leg, the dominant one, for 15 seconds. During this time, the center of pressure movement was recorded through the Wii Balance Board paired with the BrainBLoX software. From these measurements, mediolateral and anteroposterior displacement variables were obtained and later analyzed using non-parametric tests. Results: Through the analysis, no statistically significant differences were found between somatotypes or genders (all p > 0.05). Descriptive medians showed slightly lower mediolateral sway ranges in endomorphs. Conclusions: Although this study, given its nature as a pilot study, did not find any significant associations between balance and somatotype, it demonstrated the viability of using low-cost tools in exploratory research. The observed trends are hypothesis-generating at best and require confirmation in larger samples.