Relationship between Normal Weight Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Community-dwelling People aged 65–74 Years

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between normal weight obesity and metabolic syndrome risk in community-dwelling people aged 65–74 years.

Method: Body composition and BMI were measured, the lifestyles were investigated and the metabolic syndrome risk was assessed in 197 men and 203 women aged 65–74 years. Subjects were categorized according to whether their skeletal muscle index（SMI）was low（men: ≤ 7.0 kg/m²；women: ≤ 5.7 kg/m²）or normal and whether their percent body fat（%BF）was high（men: ≥ 25%；women: ≥ 30%）or normal. The differences between the groups with normal %BF and the groups with high %BF in the BMI normal group were compared using the t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test.

Results: The prevalence of a high %BF in the BMI normal group was 38.9%（56 participants）in men and 58.3%（84 participants）in women. The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in the BMI normal group was 18.8%（27 participants）in men and 22.2%（32 participants）in women. The metabolic syndrome risk in the group with high %BF was higher than in the group with normal %BF for both men（0.9［0.8］vs. 1.4［1.0］，p＝0.007）and women（0.3［0.5］vs 0.8［0.8］，p＜0.001）．

Discussion: Sarcopenic obesity was distributed across the normal BMI group and normal weight obesity was associated with metabolic syndrome risk. The results suggest that health guidance based on body composition is necessary for people aged 65–74 years with normal weight obesity in men and women.