Impact of Sarcopenic obesity on body composition, physical performance and fall risk in community dwelling older adults

Abstract

<h2>Abstract</h2> Aging is a continuous process in which body systems undergo many physiological changes. One such age associated change is loss of muscle mass which is defined as Sarcopenia. With the increased prevalence of obesity in older adults, the risks of fall and disability also increases. This formulates to the origin of a combined term called Sarcopenic obesity. This study evaluates the potential impact of sarcopenic obesity on the functional status of older adults. In which, sarcopenia was assessed by skeletal muscle mass index, and obesity by BMI. The subjects were evaluated for their body composition using anthropometric measurements, fall risks by Morse fall risk questionnaire, physical performance by short physical performance battery scale and gait speed by time-up-go test. The study concluded that both the sarcopenic obesity and sarcopenia report to have lesser bone mass, handgrip strength, physical activity, gait speed and higher body fat percentage with increase risks to fall, in comparison to obese and non sarcopenic non obese subjects. Thus, stating that sarcopenic obesity is a geriatric syndrome which results in overall adverse health concerns.