Associations of physical activity with sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in middle-aged and older adults: the Louisiana osteoporosis study

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 896 - 13
• Main Authors: Du, Yan, Xu, Tao, Yin, Zenong, Espinoza, Sara, Xie, Yiqiong, Gentry, Caleb, Tian, Qing, Zhao, Lan-Juan, Shen, Hui, Luo, Zhe, Deng, Hong-Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 05.05.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Age groups; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomedical materials; Body Composition; Body fat; Body mass index; Body size; Data collection; Ethnicity; Exercise; Female; Females; Gender; Generalized linear models; Grip strength; Health aspects; Humans; Male; Males; Middle age; Middle Aged; Middle aged persons; Musculoskeletal system; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - epidemiology; Older people; Osteoporosis; Patient outcomes; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Physical training; Physiological aspects; Risk factors; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - complications; Sarcopenia - epidemiology; Sarcopenic obesity; Statistical models; Waist Circumference; Weight control; Weight reduction; United States; Louisiana; United States > US; Sarcopenic obesity; Obesity; Sarcopenia; Exercise; Physical activity
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13288-5

This study examined the associations between physical activity, obesity, and sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults. We analyzed the data of 8, 919 study participants aged between 45 to 97 (mean age = 57.2 ± 8.8) from a Southern state in the United States. Self-reported physical activity was classified to regular exercise ≥ 3 times/week, < 3 times/week, and no regular exercise. Associations between physical activity, obesity and sarcopenia were explored with generalized linear models and ordinal logistic regressions stratified by age (middle-aged and older adults) and gender adjusting for covariates. In middle-aged and older adults, all examined obesity related traits (e.g., body mass index, waist circumference) were inversely associated with physical activity levels (p < 0.01) in both genders. Exercising ≥ 3 times/week was negatively associated with lean mass indicators (e.g., appendicular lean mass) in middle-aged and older females (p < 0.01), while the negative associations become positive after adjusting for weight. Positive associations between physical activity and grip strength were only found in middle-aged males (p < 0.05). Ordinal logistic regression revealed that those exercising ≥ 3 times/week were less likely to have obesity, sarcopenia, and sarcopenia obesity in all groups (p < 0.01), except for sarcopenia in older males and females (p > 0.05). Positive associations of exercising < 3 times/week with sarcopenia and sarcopenia obesity were only found in middled adults. The associations of exercise frequency with obesity and sarcopenia vary considerably across gender and age groups. Exercise programs need to be individualized to optimize health benefits. Future research exploring physical activity strategies to balance weight reduction and lean mass maintaining is warranted in middle-aged and especially older adults.