Research

Mixed

Sarcopenic obesity defined by visceral fat area confers the highest risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 2.54) compared to other obesity definitions like BMI or waist circumference.

If you have sarcopenic obesity, knowing your visceral fat level is crucial. Visceral fat combined with low muscle mass nearly doubles your mortality risk compared to other forms of SO. Prioritize exercises and diets that reduce visceral fat and build muscle, rather than just focusing on total weight loss.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
participants with... visceral fat area (HR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.83–3.53) have a significantly increase mortality risk compared with those without SO.
Xiaoming Zhang et al. · BMC Geriatrics · 2019

Why this rating

Subgroup analysis of a robust meta-analysis; heterogeneity was low (I2=0%) for visceral fat definition.

Source

Association of sarcopenic obesity with the risk of all-cause mortality among adults over a broad range of different settings: a updated meta-analysis

Xiaoming Zhang et al. · BMC Geriatrics · 2019

DOI 10.1186/s12877-019-1195-y

Meta-analysis · 23 studiesCited 205×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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