In 2022, the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) working group proposed uniform diagnostic criteria for sarcopenic obesity. However, no study has adapted these criteria to an Asian population or examined sarcopenic obesity prevalence diagnosed using these criteria or its association with functional outcomes. This retrospective cohort study investigated sarcopenic obesity prevalence diagnosed based on the ESPEN and EASO criteria, and its association with functional outcomes in 1080 older Japanese patients (mean age 79.5 years, 43.5 % male) undergoing rehabilitation. Based on the mentioned criteria, sarcopenic obesity is defined as a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m², increased percent body fat (PBF), reduced skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and low handgrip strength. Sarcopenic obesity prevalence was investigated using various ESPEN- and EASO-proposed definitions of increased PBF and reduced SMM. Functional outcomes were evaluated based on whether patients improved in the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The prevalence was 4.3–5.3 %. Sarcopenic obesity was not independently related to FIM MCID achievement. Sarcopenic obesity prevalence—based on the ESPEN and EASO criteria—in older Japanese patients undergoing rehabilitation was low and was not associated with poor functional outcomes.

2022年，欧洲临床营养与代谢学会（ESPEN）和欧洲肥胖研究协会（EASO）工作组提出了肌肉减少性肥胖的统一诊断标准。然而，没有研究将这些标准适用于亚洲人群或检查使用这些标准诊断的肌肉减少性肥胖患病率或其与功能结果的关联。这项回顾性队列研究调查了根据 ESPEN 和 EASO 标准诊断的肌肉减少性肥胖患病率，及其与 1080 名接受康复治疗的日本老年患者（平均年龄 79.5 岁，43.5% 男性）的功能结果之间的关系。根据上述标准，肌肉减少性肥胖定义为 BMI ≥ 25 kg/m ²、增加的体脂百分比 (PBF)、减少的骨骼肌质量 (SMM) 和较低的握力。使用各种 ESPEN 和 EASO 提出的增加 PBF 和减少 SMM 的定义来调查肌肉减少性肥胖患病率。根据患者在功能独立性测量 (FIM) 的最小临床重要差异 (MCID) 方面是否有所改善来评估功能结果。患病率为 4.3–5.3%。肌肉减少性肥胖与 FIM MCID 成绩无关。基于 ESPEN 和 EASO 标准的肌肉减少性肥胖患病率在接受康复治疗的日本老年患者中较低，并且与不良功能结果无关。