Nutrition risk, physical activity and fibre intake are associated with body composition in OA: analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Objective: Sarcopenic obesity is a key feature in osteoarthritis (OA). While ideal OA treatment involves physical activity and diet, how diet influences OA pathophysiology is unclear. We explored the associations between diet, nutrition risk and physical activity with body composition in older adults with OA.

Methods: Baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging data set were analysed. Participants with hip, knee, hand or multiple forms of OA were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Body composition measures (lean, fat and total masses (kg) and body fat percentage) were separate dependent variables. Regression analyses were conducted to explore associations between body composition with dietary intake (high calorie snack, fibre), nutrition risk (SCREEN II) and physical activity (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly).

Results: 1596 participants were 66.5 (9.0) years old with a body mass index of 28.2 (5.3) kg/m². Higher fibre cereal intake was associated with higher lean mass (unstandardised beta coefficient 0.5 (0.1, 0.9), p=0.02) and lower body fat percentage (-0.3 (-0.6, 0.0), p=0.046). Lower nutrition risk was associated with higher lean mass (0.1 (0.0, 0.1), p=0.03), lower fat mass (-0.05 (-0.1, 0.0), p=0.009) and lower body fat percentage (-0.1 (-0.1, 0.0), p<0.001). Higher physical activity was associated with higher lean mass (0.01 (0.01, 0.02), p<0.001), lower fat mass (-0.01 (0.0, 0.0), p=0.005) and lower body fat percentage (-0.01 (0.0, 0.0), p<0.001).

Conclusion: Greater physical activity and lower nutrition risk were associated with better body composition. While fibre intake was also associated body composition, the CIs were wide suggesting weak associations.