Mild Overweight Reduces the Risk of Sarcopenia in Healthy Women~!2010-02-22~!2010-07-05~!2010-09-06~!

Background: The process of ageing is accompanied with a progressive decline in skeletal muscle mass resulting in sarcopenia.Aims: To test the association patterns between body mass index and appendicular skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height and total skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height among healthy women.Design: In a cross-sectional study the association between body mass index (BMI) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height and total skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height was tested among 834 healthy women ageing between 20 and 92 years.Muscle mass was estimated by means of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).Results: Appendicular skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height and total skeletal muscle mass adjusted for height were positively associated with BMI.Overweight women (BMI < 30.00) had a significantly reduced risk to develop sarcopenia in comparison with their normalweight counterparts. Main conclusions:Mild overweight has a protective effect against muscle loss and sarcopenia in healthy women.