TABLE 1.

Participant and musculoskeletal characteristics grouped by adiposity and BMI¹

	Adiposity		BMI
	Normal adiposity, n = 18	High adiposity, n = 32	Normal weight, n = 15	Overweight, n = 19	Obese, n = 16
Participant characteristics
Age, y	60 ± 11	66 ± 8*	64 ± 8	66 ± 9	60 ± 10
Height, cm	164 ± 9	165 ± 6	163 ± 7	166 ± 8	164 ± 7
Body mass, kg	65 ± 16	81 ± 13*	58 ± 8c	75 ± 7b	92 ± 11a
BMI, kg/m2	23.6 ± 3.9	30.0 ± 4.7*	21.9 ± 1.8c	27.0 ± 1.2b	34.1 ± 3.4a
Body fat, %	31.6 ± 5.2	41.1 ± 6.7*	31.7 ± 5.4c	38.1 ± 6.8a,b	42.9 ± 6.8a
Fat mass, kg	19.8 ± 5.2	32.6 ± 8.1*	18.0 ± 3.7c	27.3 ± 3.8b	38.1 ± 7.4a
Lean mass, kg	40.7 ± 11.0	44.0 ± 7.9*	36.7 ± 5.9b	42.8 ± 8.4a,b	48.6 ± 9.2a
Leg lean mass, kg	6.6 ± 1.8	7.0 ± 1.5	5.9 ± 1.0b	6.9 ± 1.7a,b	7.7 ± 1.5a
Arm lean mass, kg	2.2 ± 0.8	2.2 ± 0.6	2.0 ± 0.5	2.1 ± 0.7	2.4 ± 0.7
Muscle characteristics
PF MVC, Nm	114 ± 46	117 ± 31	101 ± 26	114 ± 36	132 ± 43
PF MVC (corrected), Nm	131 ± 49	136 ± 32	113 ± 26b	134 ± 35a,b	153 ± 44a
PF MVC/body mass, Nm/kg	1.7 ± 0.4	1.4 ± 0.4*	1.7 ± 0.4	1.5 ± 0.4	1.4 ± 0.4
Muscle activation, %	86.5 ± 14.1	83.9 ± 13.3	88.1 ± 11.1	83.5 ± 14.2	83.4 ± 14.9
GM pennation angle, °	28.2 ± 5.0	31.2 ± 5.5	26.9 ± 4.1b	29.0 ± 4.7a	34.4 ± 4.9a
GM fascicle length, cm	3.9 ± 0.7	3.8 ± 0.6	3.8 ± 0.6	3.9 ± 0.8	3.8 ± 0.6
GM muscle volume, cm3	220 ± 49	225 ± 57	192 ± 45b	224 ± 44a,b	249 ± 59a
GM PCSA, cm2	57 ± 14	58 ± 16	51 ± 14b	56 ± 13a,b	65 ± 15a
Tendon force, kN	3.89 ± 1.45	4.16 ± 1.02	3.42 ± 0.82b	4.06 ± 1.17a,b	4.66 ± 1.24a
GM fascicle force, kN	1.12 ± 0.47	1.22 ± 0.32	0.97 ± 0.26b	1.14 ± 0.35a,b	1.42 ± 0.40a
GM specific force, N/cm2	19.9 ± 6.0	21.9 ± 6.4	20.1 ± 7.5	20.7 ± 5.6	22.6 ± 5.8

¹Values are means ± SDs. Labeled BMI classification means in a row without a common superscript letter differ, P < 0.05. *Different from normal adiposity, P < 0.05. GM, gastrocnemius medialis; kN, kiloNewton; MVC, maximum voluntary contraction; N, Newton: Nm, Newton meter; PCSA, physiological cross-sectional area; PF, plantar flexion.