Thigh Fat in Older Adults Reduces Walking Speed

Excess of fat throughout the thigh in older adults causes mobility loss when compared to healthy older adults, according to a recent finding.

The latest study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center was conducted by Kristen Beavers, Ph.D., lead author of the study, along with colleagues at Wake Forest Baptist.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, preventing age-related walking speed decline is not just about cutting muscle mass, but also about preventing excessive fat increase.

Similarly, prior to this a study showed a strong association between thigh fat and poor balance and mobility in older adults. This study was published in 2010 in the journal Geriatrics & Gerontology International. But this is the first study that highlights an independent link between body composition and walking speed.

According to Beavers, walking speed reduces with age. And in the case of older adults, slower walking speed is an indication of disability, paying visits to nursing homes and in worst cases even death. Walking speed represents an indication of independent living for older adults. But not much information is available on what heads this decline. Yet they consider change in body as a likely factor to kick-start their research, reports Sciencedaily.

"As people age, they are more likely to gain fat in and around their muscles, and we speculated that gaining fat in the leg muscle itself would be related to slowed walking speed," Beavers was quoted as saying in MedicalXpress.

In order to prove the hypothesis, researchers collected data from the National Institute on Aging's Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) that involved 2,306 adults belonging to the age group of 70-79. The researchers noticed the impact of fat and lean mass on walking speed and analyzed whether any changes in the thigh intermuscular fat or thigh muscle area were more predictive of reduced walking speed.

The walking speed of the adults was measured by calculating the time they took to complete a 20-minute walk. These participants were tested annually over a period of four years. With the help of computer tomography, the body composition was measured.

The researchers observed that both increasing thigh intermuscular fat and decreasing thigh muscle area are significant, independent predictors of walking speed decline. Those older adults who had excess thigh fat and lost thigh muscle were at a higher risk of experiencing decline in walking speed.