Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2025, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (17): 3657-3667.doi: 10.12307/2025.623

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Exercise intervention for sarcopenic obesity in older adults

Zhao Yanan1, Lu Donglei2, Tan Sijie1, 3     

  1. 1School of Sports and Health, 2School of Sports Training, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China; 3Tianjin College of Media and Arts, Tianjin 301901, China
  • Received:2024-06-04 Accepted:2024-07-15 Online:2025-06-18 Published:2024-11-06
  • Contact: Tan Sijie, Professor, School of Sports and Health, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China; Tianjin College of Media and Arts, Tianjin 301901, China
  • About author:Zhao Yanan, Master candidate, School of Sports and Health, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Exercise is an important strategy for the prevention and management of sarcopenic obesity in older adults, but there is a lack of exploration and research on accurate and personalized exercise prescription for sarcopenic obesity in older adults.
OBJECTIVE: To review the tandem mechanism of sarcopenic obesity in older adults and the effects of different exercise interventions in older patients with sarcopenic obesity, in order to provide theoretical and practical guidance for the formulation of exercise prescriptions for sarcopenic obesity in older adults.
METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang databases were retrieved for relevant literature using the keywords of “sarcopenic obesity, sarcopenic adiposity, aging, sport, exercise, exercise intervention, exercise prescription, resistant training, aerobic training, combination training, muscle strength, muscle mass, physical activity” in Chinese and English, respectively. A total of 85 articles were included for review according to the inclusive and exclusive criteria.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Resistance exercise is still an effective exercise method to prevent and alleviate sarcopenic obesity in older adults. Resistance exercise is more significant in improving and improving skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength and endurance, and physical function ability. However, in practice, it should be applied in a gradual manner, with a gradual increase in intensity to a medium-to-high level. (2) Aerobic exercise is also an important intervention to control and slow the progress of sarcopenic obesity, and it is more effective in improving cardiorespiratory endurance, decreasing percentage of body fat, and decreasing the area of visceral fat in older patients with sarcopenic obesity. (3) Combining the advantages of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise can better improve body composition and reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors. To some extent, combined exercise is better than single exercise.

Key words: older adults, sarcopenic obesity, exercise, aerobic exercise, resistant exercise, combination exercise, exercise prescription

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