Association of Sarcopenic Obesity and Body Composition With Metabolically Unhealthy Overweight/Obese Phenotypes Among Iranian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Objectives Obesity is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome, with its prevalence has increased over the past decade. Major changes in body composition with aging have a significant effect on many clinical outcomes. Sarcopenic obesity consists of both the presence of abnormal adipose tissue with a deficit of muscle mass. Results Of the 241 subjects in this study (average age 35.32 years), 176 (73.03%) were classified as MUO phenotype. Based on this study, the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity was 7.88%. We found that high fat-free mass was more strongly and significantly associated with MUO phenotype. Furthermore, we found that individuals with high fat-free mass and high skeletal muscle mass had a significantly low prevalence of MUO phenotype. A significant positive correlation between metabolic phenotypes and sarcopenic obesity was also observed after all potential covariates were adjusted for. These results of this study suggest that increased adiposity and decreased skeletal muscle mass are associated with unfavorable metabolic traits among overweight and obese Iranian women. SO was also found to be associated with a greater risk of developing MUO phenotype.