Prevalence of Sarcopenic Obesity Using Different Definitions and the Relationship With Strength and Physical Performance in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging

• Published in: Frontiers in physiology Vol. 11; p. 583825
• Main Authors: Purcell, Sarah A, Mackenzie, Michelle, Barbosa-Silva, Thiago G, Dionne, Isabelle J, Ghosh, Sunita, Siervo, Mario, Ye, Ming, Prado, Carla M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 21-01-2021
• Subjects: body composition; community-dwelling older individuals; Geriatrics; muscle strength; older people; physical function; Physiology; muscle strength; body composition; CLSA; older people; physical function; Geriatrics; community-dwelling older individuals
• ISSN: 1664-042X; 1664-042X
• DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.583825

Sarcopenic obesity is associated with several negative health outcomes. However, the prevalence of this condition - and the relationship to physical performance parameters - varies across definitions. The aim of this cross-sectional investigation was to describe the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity using different published definitions and their relationship with handgrip strength and walking speed in older Canadian adults. Individuals aged 65+ in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (
= 11,803; 49.6% male, 50.4% female) were included. Body composition was measured using dual X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenic obesity was defined using 29 definitions. Low handgrip strength was identified as < 27 kg in males and < 16 kg in females and poor physical performance was defined as gait speed ≤ 0.8 m/s. The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity ranged from 0.1 to 85.3% in males, and from 0 to 80.4% in females. Sarcopenic obesity was frequently associated with low handgrip strength (
< 0.05) in both males (14/17 definitions, 82.4%) and females (21/29 definitions, 72.4%). In very few definitions, sarcopenic obesity was associated with slow gait speed (males: 1/17 definitions [6.7%]; females: 2/29 [6.9%]). In conclusion, the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity varied greatly according to definitions and sarcopenic obesity was frequently associated with low handgrip strength.