Gender and Exercise in Relation to Obesity in Greek Elderly Population

The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity is increasing in older adults (>65 years) and older. Sarcopenic obesity is also related to reduced muscle synthesis, due to low physical activity levels. The purpose of the present study is to investigate possible risk factors, and effects of habitual activity status on different types of obesity in an elderly population.

One hundred and two (n = 102) free living participants, aged >60 years, were randomly selected from Rehabilitation Centers for the Elderly in Thessaloniki and from municipal gymnasiums of Thessaloniki, Greece with a mean age of 68.11 ± 6.40 years. The response rate of the participants was 51%. For the purpose of this study, all the participants selected were healthy and did not receive any medication. Specifically, 46 subjects (19 men and 27 women) were members of Rehabilitation Centers for the Elderly in Thessaloniki, while 56 individuals (31 men and 25 women were members of the municipal gymnasiums of Thessaloniki and exercised 2 to 3 times per week). Anthropometric measurements were taken for all subjects. Body composition was assessed with bioelectrical impedance. Body Mass Index (BMI) was categorized according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2000) standards. Central obesity was defined as a waist circumference of >102 cm in men and >88 cm in women. All participants completed a specific questionnaire regarding their health status, physical activity and previous weight status. Risk of sarcopenic obesity was diagnosed in the participants with co-existing sarcopenia and obesity resulting in high fat mass concurrent with low lean body mass.

Women had more than double risk of developing abdominal obesity (OR:2.133, 95% CI: 0.963-4.725) compared to men. More specifically, 69.6% of the elders who did not exercise regularly had central obesity (men: 52.6% and women: 81.5%), while 38.2% of the exercised elders (men: 36.7% and women: 40%) had central obesity. Sedentary elders demonstrated an increased risk of obesity according to body fat (%BF) (OR: 1.259, 95% CI: 0.576-2.750), double the risk of obesity according to body mass (OR: 2.074, 95% CI: 0.765-5.622), and triple the risk of having central obesity (OR: 3.701, 95% CI: 1.612-8.494) compared to those who exercised. Conclusion Exercise appears to have a protective role against all modes of obesity and thus possibly against obesity-related co-morbidities in the elderly.