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Prospective associations between ambulatory activity, body composition and muscle function in older adults
Author(s) -
Scott D.,
Blizzard L.,
Fell J.,
Jones G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01229.x
Subject(s) - lean body mass , medicine , ambulatory , trunk , prospective cohort study , fat mass , muscle mass , sarcopenia , composition (language) , physical therapy , physiology , endocrinology , zoology , body mass index , body weight , biology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy
To describe prospective associations between ambulatory activity (AA), body composition and muscle function in older adults, 697 community‐dwelling participants (49% female; mean age=62 ± 7 years) were assessed for changes in body fat and leg lean mass using dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry, leg strength using dynamometer, and whole body muscle quality (WBMQ; an estimate of specific force) over 2.6 ± 0.4 years. AA was negatively associated with fat mass in both sexes but baseline AA did not predict change in fat mass. Habitual AA was weakly, but significantly, negatively associated with change in total body fat (−0.16 kg/step × 10 3 /day, P =0.011) and trunk fat (−0.12 kg/step × 10 3 /day, P =0.044) in men. Habitual AA was also weakly, but significantly, positively associated with change in leg lean mass in both men and women (both P <0.05), as well as change in leg strength (1.37 kg/step × 10 3 /day, P =0.001) and WBMQ (0.03 kg/kg/step × 10 3 /day, P =0.002) in women only. Partial R 2 s for these associations were in the range of 1.2–3.2%. Although, these associations are modest, increases in objectively assessed physical activity may represent a target for improving body composition and muscle function in community‐dwelling older adults.