Research

Hormonal

Intermuscular adipose tissue (iMAT) in elderly men is primarily driven by total body fat mass and age, with subclinical local inflammation (IL-6 expression) contributing to its presence.

For older men, managing total body fat is the most effective way to reduce fat infiltration in muscles. While inflammation plays a role, it is local tissue inflammation that matters most, not necessarily what shows up in standard blood tests. Focus on maintaining a healthy weight and addressing age-related changes.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
iMAT was primarily related to age and total body adiposity; subclinical inflammation in fat significantly contributes to iMAT.
Elena Zoico et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2009

Why this rating

Small sample size (n=20) and cross-sectional design limit causal inference, though statistical associations are strong.

Source

Adipose Tissue Infiltration in Skeletal Muscle of Healthy Elderly Men: Relationships With Body Composition, Insulin Resistance, and Inflammation at the Systemic and Tissue Level

Elena Zoico et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2009

DOI 10.1093/gerona/glp155

cross_sectional · n=20Cited 215×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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