Research
Mixed
Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and early mortality, while sarcopenia (low muscle mass) increases the risk of injury, disability, and mortality, making the assessment of both fat and lean mass critical for risk stratification.
Maintain a healthy balance of fat and muscle. High fat mass and low muscle mass are both independently linked to higher risks of chronic disease and early death. Regular body composition checks help identify these risks early.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Excess adiposity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases [9], type 2 diabetes [10], several types of cancer [11], and early mortality [12]. ... sarcopenia... increasing the risk of injury, disability, and mortality [28].
Why this rating
Supported by multiple citations and broad consensus in the text.
Source
The Utility of Body Composition Assessment in Nutrition and Clinical Practice: An Overview of Current Methodology
Clifton J. Holmes et al. · Nutrients · 2021
DOI 10.3390/nu13082493
narrative_reviewCited 363×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the preferred criterion measure for body composition assessment because it provides a multi-compartment model including bone mineral content, offering higher accuracy than two-compartment methods.Strong
- Body composition assessment (quantifying fat mass and fat-free mass) is clinically superior to BMI for diagnosing and managing obesity, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis because BMI fails to distinguish between tissue compartments.Good
Related findings · Mixed
- Bariatric surgery (VSG and RYGB) is the most effective and sustainable treatment for obesity, producing marked and sustained weight loss that non-surgical interventions cannot match.Strong
- Severely protein-deficient diets (2–3% energy) induce lean body mass loss and metabolic imbalance, whereas adequate protein intake (0.66 g/kg/d minimum) is a prerequisite for maintaining muscle, bone, and physiological function.Strong
- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
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