Effects of Different Types of Exercise on Body Composition, Muscle Strength, and IGF-1 in the Elderly with Sarcopenic Obesity

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the influence of resistance training (RT), aerobic training (AT), or combination training (CT) interventions on the body composition, muscle strength performance, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) of patients with sarcopenic obesity.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Community center and research center.

Participants: Sixty men and women aged 65-75 with sarcopenic obesity.

Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned to RT, AT, CT, and control (CON) groups. After training twice a week for 8 weeks, the participants in each group ceased training for 4 weeks before being examined for the retention effects of the training interventions.

Measurements: The body composition, grip strength, maximum back extensor strength, maximum knee extensor muscle strength, and blood IGF-1 concentration were measured.

Results: The skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat mass, appendicular SMM/weight %, and visceral fat area (VFA) of the RT, AT, and CT groups were significantly superior to those of the CON group at both week 8 and week 12. Regarding muscle strength performance, the RT group exhibited greater grip strength at weeks 8 and 12 as well as higher knee extensor performance at week 8 than that of the other groups. At week 8, the serum IGF-1 concentration of the RT group was higher than the CON group, whereas the CT group was superior to the AT and CON groups.

Conclusion: Older adults with sarcopenic obesity who engaged in the RT, AT, and CT interventions demonstrated increased muscle mass and reduced total fat mass and VFA compared with those without training. The muscle strength performance and serum IGF-1 level in trained groups, especially in the RT group, were superior to the control group.

Keywords: IGF-1; appendicular skeletal muscle mass; handgrip; resistant training; visceral fat area.