Conclusions
muscle mass, obesity, sarcopenic, sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity
OBESITY, OBESE, SARCOPENIA
Our data suggest that polymorphisms in the activin I B receptor locus are associated with height and limb fat mass rather than muscle mass and strength in older men with sarcopenia. These findings are potentially of clinical significance; interventions that target the activin/myostatin pathway could potentially exert beneficial effects on extramuscular fat, at least in the limbs, with consequent amelioration of the deleterious effects of such fat on skeletal muscle physiology. Such mechanisms may be of particular interest in improving muscle function in individuals who have both obesity and sarcopenia (‘sarcopenic obesity’). If functional studies validate our findings, the obese and sarcopenic population would be a key target for future intervention studies using myostatin/activin pathway modulators.