Sarcopenic obesity is associated with long-term trajectories of physical activity and sedentary behavior

Background

Sarcopenia is characterized by decreased muscle mass and strength, and when combined with obesity, it is called sarcopenic obesity (SO). Like sarcopenia, SO is associated with adverse health outcomes This study aimed to investigate the association between SO with the longitudinal, long-term trajectories of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB).

Methods

Data came from four waves of the WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) in Mexico (2009, 2014, 2017, 2021). A total of 1484 older adults aged 50 years and above were included in the study. PA and SB were determined by using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Sarcopenia was defined according to the criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People, and obesity according to waist circumference. Growth mixture modeling was used to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of PA and SB.

Results

Three longitudinal trajectories of PA and SB were found: low-PA-decreasers, moderate-PA-decreasers, and high-PA-decreasers for PA; and low-maintainers, steep-decreasers, and steep-increasers for SB. Decreased odds of SO were consistently associated with better PA and SB trajectories.

Conclusions

The results of this study showed that sustained long-term trajectories of adequate levels of PA and SB are associated with lower rates of SO. The findings of this study support the evidence that regular PA can help reduce the likelihood of developing SO.