Research
Hormonal
Skeletal muscle mass is inversely correlated with insulin resistance, and low muscle mass (sarcopenia) exacerbates insulin resistance in obese individuals, particularly when combined with high fat mass (sarcopenic adiposity).
When losing weight, prioritize preserving muscle mass through resistance training and adequate protein intake. Simply losing weight without maintaining muscle can worsen insulin resistance, especially in older adults or those with 'sarcopenic obesity'.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
By contrast, leg fat and an interaction term of 'age and skeletal muscle' are inversely correlated with insulin resistance... The role of skeletal muscle becomes evident in the case of the so-called sarcopenic obese patient... When compared with visceral obese patients, insulin sensitivity was further decreased in the 'visceral + sarcopenic obese'... weight loss-associated losses in muscle mass may add to further metabolic and functional impairments
Why this rating
Based on cross-sectional and longitudinal data showing inverse correlation and exacerbation in sarcopenic obese.
Source
Beyond the body mass index: tracking body composition in the pathogenesis of obesity and the metabolic syndrome
Manfred J. Müller et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2012
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2012.01033.x
narrative_reviewCited 296×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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