Table 2.
Characteristics of studies.
| Author and year | Country | Study design | Groups (sample size) | Age (sex) | Definition of sarcopenic obesity | Assessment tool of body composition | Type of exercise intervention | Time point of measurement | Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarcopenia | Obesity | |||||||||
| Balachandran 2014 (26) |
America | Parallel-group RCT | Hypertrophy (9) | 71 ± 8.2 (F) | SMI < 10.76 kg/m2 in men and 6.76 kg/m2 in women or gait speed <1 m/s or GS < 30 kg for men and 20 kg for women | BMI > 30 kg/m2 | BIA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 15th week |
SPPB, leg press power, 1-RM of leg press and chest press, BF%, LBM, SMI; PFP-10, GS |
| High-speed circuit (8) | 71.6 ± 7.8 (Both) | |||||||||
| Kim 2016 (28) |
Japan | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (35) | 81.4 ± 4.31 (F) | SMI < 5.67 kg/m2 or GS < 17 kg or WS < l m/s | BF% > 32 | BIA | Combined exercise | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
BF%, TFM, ASM, GS, KES, WS; TC, TG; IL-6, hs-CRP |
| Health Education (34) | 81.1 ± 5.11 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Maltais 2016 (27) |
America | Parallel-group RCT | RT + Nondairy Shake (8) | 64 ± 4.9 (M) | SMI < 10.75 kg/m2 | BMI > 30 kg/m2 | DXA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 16th week |
BMI, FM; TG, HDL, LDL, TC, GLU, insulin; IL-6, TNF-α, CRP |
| RT + Dairy Shake (8) | 68 ± 5.1 (M) | |||||||||
| RT (10) | 64 ± 4.5 (M) | |||||||||
| Vasconcelos 2016 (29) | Brazil | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (14) | 72 ± 4.61 (F) | handgrip strength ≤21 kg | BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 | NA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 10th week |
strength, power, SPPB, gait velocity, SF-36 |
| Control (14) | 72 ± 3.61 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Chen 2017 (31) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | RT (15) | 68.9 ± 4.4 (Both) | SMI < 32.5%in men, <25.7% in women | BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and VFA ≥ 100 cm2 | BIA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 8th week |
BMI, PBF%, SMM, ASM/Weight; Grip, BES; IGF-1 |
| AR (15) | 69.3 ± 3.0 (Both) | AR | ||||||||
| Combination training (15) | 68.5 ± 2.7 (Both) | Combined exercise | ||||||||
| Control (15) | 68.6 ± 3.1 (Both) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Huang 2017 (32) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | ERT (18) | 68.89 ± 4.91 (F) | SMI < 27.6% | BF% > 30 | DXA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
BMI, SMI, BF%, TFM; T-score, Z-score; TG, HDL, LDL, TC; CRP |
| Control (17) | 69.53 ± 5.09 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Liao 2017 (24) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | Experimental (25) | 66.39 ± 4.491 (F) | SMI < 7.15 kg/m2 | BF% > 30 | DXA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
FFM, LLM, TFM, BF%; GS, TUG, handgrip |
| Control (21) | 68.42 ± 5.86 1 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Park 2017 (33) |
Korea | Parallel-group RCT | Combined exercise (25) | 73.5 ± 7.11 (F) | ASM/ weight <25.1% | BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 | DXA | Combined exercise | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 24th week |
BF%, ASM; GS, sit and reach, MWS; TG, HDL, LDL, TC; hs-CRP |
| Control (25) | 74.7 ± 5.11 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Chiu 2018 (39) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (33) | 79.64 ± 7.36 (Both) | SMI (TSM/BW) < 37.15% in men; <32.26% in women | BF% > 29 in men; BF% > 40 in women | BIA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
skeletal muscle%, ASMI, BF%; GS, total pinch strength, total FIM score |
| Comparison (31) | 80.15 ± 8.26 (Both) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Liao 2018 (37) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | Experimental (33) | 66.67 ± 4.541 (F) | SMI < 27.6% | BF% > 30 | BIA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
BF%, TSM, ALM, LMI, AMI, SMI %; GS, TUG, UE, LE, SF-36 |
| Control (23) | 68.32 ± 6.051 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Nabuco 2019 (30) |
Brazil | Parallel-group RCT | RT + whey protein (13) | 68.0 ± 4.21 (F) | ASM < 15.02 kg | BF% > 35 | DXA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
ALST, WC, TFM; 10 MW, KES, chest press; TG, HDL, LDL, TC, GLU, insulin, HOMA-IR; IL-6, TNF-α, CRP |
| RT (13) | 70.1 ± 3.91 (F) | |||||||||
| Liao 2020 (38) |
China | Parallel-group RCT | Experimental (20) | 72.22 ± 7.751 (F) | gait speed <0.8 m/s | BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 |
DXA | RT | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
arm lean mass, leg lean mass, ASMI, gait speed, WOMAC−PF, UE, LE |
| Control (20) | 69.79 ± 6.721 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Jung 2022 (34) |
Korea | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (14) | 75.36 ± 4.501 (F) | ASM/height ≤5.4 kg/m2 | BF% > 32 | DXA | Circuit exercise | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
BMI, FFM, ASMI, WHR; TG, HDL, LDL, TC, HOMA-IR |
| Control (14) | 74.64 ± 5.771 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Magtouf 2023 (36) |
Tunisia | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (25) | 76.1 ± 3.5 (NA) | handgrip <17 N, gait speed <1.0 m/s | BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 |
NA | Concurrent Exercise | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 24th week |
BMI, BF%, FBM, LBM, WC, HC; hand grip, GS, TUG, Romberg test |
| Control (25) | 75.9 ± 5.4 (NA) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
| Jung 2024 (35) |
Korea | Parallel-group RCT | Exercise (14) | 78.14 ± 3.721 (F) | ASM/height ≤5.4 kg/m2 | BF% > 32 | BIA, DXA | Circuit Exercise | Baseline: 0 week Posttest: 12th week |
BMI, FFM, BF%, ASMI; hs-CRP, IL-6, TNF-α |
| Control (14) | 78.21 ± 3.721 (F) | Non-exercise | ||||||||
RCT, randomized controlled trial; ERT, elastic band resistance training; RT, resistance training; F, female; M, male; SMI, skeletal muscle index; BMI, body mass index; BF%, body fat percentage; DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; BIA, bioelectrical impedance analysis; ASM, appendicular muscle mass; FM, fat mass; FFM, fat-free mass; TFM, total fat mass; ALST, appendicular lean soft tissue; TSM, total skeletal muscle; WC, waist circumference; 10 MW, 10 m walk test; KES, knee extensor strength; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; GLU, glucose; IL-6, interleukin-6; IL-8, interleukin-8; CRP, C-reactive protein; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor-1; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; ASMI, appendicular skeletal muscle mass index; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio; GS, grip strength; MWS, maximum walking speed; WS, walking speed; SPPB, short physical performance battery; SF-36, 36-item Short Form Health Survey; SM, skeletal muscle mass; ALM, appendicular lean mass; LMI, lean mass index; TUG, timed up and go; UE, upper extremity; LE, lower extremity; WOMAC-PF, physical function subscale of Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index; HC, hip circumference; 1-RM, one-repetition maximum; LBM, lean body mass; PFP-10, physical functional performance test; NA, not available.