Age, Diabetes and Nutrient Intake Influence the Risk of Obese and Non-obese Sarcopenia in Individuals aged over 40 years in Urban Bengaluru, India

In India, obesity has been a growing concern. The coexistence of obesity and sarcopenia can have serious health implications. We aimed to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and identify the factors influencing it in obese and non-obese individuals using the South Asian guidelines (SWAG-SARCO). We selected 603 adults aged between 40 to 80 years residing in urban Bengaluru. We measured their weight, height, waist circumference, calf circumference and hand grip strength. We also used short physical performance battery and 24-hour recall to study their muscle function and nutrient intake respectively. We used multinominal regression analysis to identify the predictors of sarcopenia. Thirty-one per cent of the participants had sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity and non-obese sarcopenia was 20.6% and 10.2% respectively. Multinominal regression analysis indicated that age, diabetes, higher energy intake increased the odds of having sarcopenia in both obese and non-obese groups (p < 0.05). Dietary protein intake was seen to offer protection against sarcopenia in both obese and non-obese groups (p < 0.05). Individuals with family history of arthritis had increased odds of sarcopenia in obese individuals (p < 0.05). On the other hand, dietary calcium and fat intake were protective against sarcopenia in obese and non-obese individuals respectively (p < 0.05). Sarcopenia was seen to be more prevalent in the obese. South Asian guidelines allowed more effective identification of sarcopenia with the use of practical, economical and reliable tools. Efforts need to be made to include screening for sarcopenia in regular clinical assessment to aid in prevention and treatment of sarcopenia.