Mixed
Subtotal body fat percentage is the most important predictor of maximum exercise capacity in adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, surpassing traditional metrics like BMI.
If you have Type 2 Diabetes, your body fat percentage is a stronger indicator of your heart health and exercise capacity than your weight or BMI alone. While you can't easily measure body fat at home, understanding that excess fat impacts your fitness more than muscle mass does can motivate you to focus on body composition changes (via diet and exercise) rather than just weight loss.
We show that subtotal fat percentage is the most important feature for predicting the exercise capacity for males and females after accounting for other important variables.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (LOOK AHEAD), rigorous ML validation, but observational/predictive nature limits causal inference.
Source
Body fat predicts exercise capacity in persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A machine learning approach
Tanmay Nath et al. · PLoS ONE · 2021
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0248039
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