Whole-body electromyostimulation to fight sarcopenic obesity in community-dwelling older women at risk. Resultsof the randomized controlled FORMOsA-sarcopenic obesity study

W. Kemmler, M. Teschler, A. Weissenfels, M. Bebenek, S. von Stengel, M. Kohl, E. Freiberger, S. Goisser, F. Jakob, C. Sieber, K. Engelke

The effect of whole body-electromyostimulation in community-dwelling women ≥70 with sarcopenic obesity was heterogeneous, with high effects on muscle mass, moderate effects on functional parameters, and minor effects on fat mass. Further, we failed to determine a supportive effect of additional protein-enriched dietary supplementation in this albeit predominately well-nourished group. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) on sarcopenic obesity (SO) in community-dwelling women more than 70 years with sarcopenic obesity. Seventy-five community-dwelling women ≥70 years with SO were randomly allocated to either a WB-EMS-application with (WB-EMS &P; 24.9 ± 1.9 kg/m(2)) or without (WB-EMS; 25.2 ± 1.8 kg/m(2)) dietary supplementation (150 kcal/day, 56 % protein) or a non-training control group (CG; 24.7 ± 1.4 kg/m(2)). WB-EMS consisted of one weekly session of 20 min (85 Hz, 350 μs, 4 s of strain-4 s of rest) performed with moderate to high intensity. Primary study endpoint was the Sarcopenia Z-Score constituted by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI, as assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), grip strength, and gait speed, and secondary study endpoint was body fat (%). Sarcopenia Z-score comparably increases in the WB-EMS and the WB-EMS&P-group (p ≤ .046). Both groups differ significantly (p ≤ .001) from the CG which deteriorated significantly (p = .006). Although body fat changes were most pronounced in the WB-EMS (-0.9 ± 2.1; p = .125) and WB-EMS&P (-1.4 ± 2.5; p = .028), reductions did not statistically differ (p = .746) from the CG (-0.8 ± 2.7; p = .179). Looking behind the covariates, the most prominent changes were determined for SMI, with a significant increase in both EMS-groups (2.0-2.5 %; p ≤ .003) and a decrease in the CG (-1.2 ± 3.1 %; p = .050) with significant between-group differences (p = .001). WB-EMS is a safe and attractive method for increasing muscle mass and functional capacity in this cohort of women 70+ with SO; however, the effect on body fat is minor. Protein-enriched supplements did not increase effects of WB-EMS alone.