Original title: Exercise interventions for gait and balance performances among older adults with sarcopenic obesity: a scoping review
Sarcopenic obesityHaving obesity and low muscle mass or muscle strength at the same time. means having both low muscle and obesity. This review mapped 13 studies of adults aged 60 and older that looked at movement and walking or balance. Exercise programs, including strength and mixed aerobic-and-strength training, were linked to better walking, mobility, and balance. The studies reported only mild problems, such as sore muscles or joints. None tested whether reducing time spent sitting helps.
Imagine carrying a heavy bag while trying to walk across a slippery floor. Keeping your steps steady and staying upright can become harder. In this paper, the heavy bag stands for the combined muscle loss and obesity, while exercise is what the studies tested to see whether walking and balance improved.
Older adults with both muscle loss and obesity can have worse walking and balance than people with either condition alone. Exercise may help them move more safely, but the evidence is mostly from older women, so it is unclear how well it applies to older men.
This review maps a small body of evidence: 13 studies, with nearly 70% conducted only in older women, so results may not generalize to older men. The findings do not establish cause and effect, and no studies tested interventions to reduce sedentary behavior. The abstract calls for higher-quality, sex-balanced experimental studies.
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Exercise interventions for gait and balance performances among older adults with sarcopenic obesity: a scoping review — Wilson Kin Chung Leung, Yim Ching Yau, Bobo Ching Lam Chan et al. — European Review of Aging and Physical Activity — doi:10.1186/s11556-026-00441-x
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.