Association of high body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percentage with sarcopenia in older women

BACKGROUND: Age-related obesity and body composition changes include loss of muscle mass and increased body fat. This study aimed to investigate sex differences in the impact of sarcopenia, defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), on obesity in Korean older adults. METHODS: In this 2-year longitudinal study, 3014 participants were excluded based on AWGS sarcopenia parameters (if any one of the sarcopenic parameter criteria was satisfied), including low handgrip strength (HGS), low appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), and low short physical performance battery (SPPB). A total of 926 non-sarcopenic participants were recruited for the study. The obese and non-obese groups were compared according to the sarcopenia parameters. The following variables were selected for obesity analysis: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and body fat percentage. Unadjusted and fully adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed for each variable to predict sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity according to sex. RESULTS: Among the sarcopenia parameters, reduction in ASMI was significantly lower in the obese group with high WC and percentage of body fat (PBF) in both men and women (P < 0.01). Multivariable analysis revealed that different obesity parameters were associated with AWGS criteria: women in the high BMI group presented significantly lower ASMI and sarcopenia (ASMI, OR = 0.289, 95% CI = 0.174-0.480; sarcopenia, OR = 0.152, 95% CI = 0.048-0.483). Women in the high WC group had significantly lower ASMI and sarcopenia (ASMI, OR = 0.307, 95% CI = 0.189-0.500; sarcopenia, OR = 0.262, 95% CI = 0.106-0.649). Women in the high PBF group had a lower incidence of sarcopenia (OR = 0.214, 95% CI = 0.068-0.278). CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified that high BMI had a protective effect on the reduction of muscle mass in men and women. However, obesity parameters including BMI, WC, and PBF were positively correlated with a lower incidence of sarcopenia only in women. Obesity in older women may have a protective effect in reducing ASMI and the incidence of sarcopenia.