Characteristics of resistance training-based protocols in older adults with sarcopenic obesity: a scoping review of training procedure recommendations

Leonardo Santos Lopes da Silva; Leonardo da Silva Gonçalves; Pedro Pugliesi Abdalla; Cícero Jonas Rodrigues Benjamim; Márcio Fernando Tasinafo Jr; Ana Cláudia Rossini Venturini; Lucimere Bohn; Jorge Mota; Pablo Jorge Marcos-Pardo; Wolfgang Kemmler; André Pereira Dos Santos; Dalmo Roberto Lopes Machado

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1179832

Characteristics of resistance training-based protocols in older adults with sarcopenic obesity: a scoping review of training procedure recommendations

Front Nutr. 2023 May 10:10:1179832. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1179832. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Leonardo Santos Lopes da Silva^{1

2}, Leonardo da Silva Gonçalves¹, Pedro Pugliesi Abdalla², Cícero Jonas Rodrigues Benjamim³, Márcio Fernando Tasinafo Jr^{1

2}, Ana Cláudia Rossini Venturini², Lucimere Bohn^{4

5

6}, Jorge Mota^{5

6}, Pablo Jorge Marcos-Pardo^{7

8}, Wolfgang Kemmler^{9

10}, André Pereira Dos Santos^{1

2

11}, Dalmo Roberto Lopes Machado^{1

2

5

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Education and Sport of Ribeirão Preto (EEFERP/USP), University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
² Study and Research Group in Anthropometry, Training, and Sport (GEPEATE), School of Physical Education and Sport of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
⁴ Faculty of Psychology, Education and Sport, Lusófona University, Porto, Portugal.
⁵ Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sports, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Faculty of Sports, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁷ Neuropsychological Evaluation and Rehabilitation (CERNEP) Research Centre, Scientific Projects Organization and Research Training (SPORT) Research Group (CTS-1024), Department of Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
⁸ Active Aging, Exercise and Health/HEALTHY-AGE Network, Consejo Superior de Deportes, Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain, Madrid, Spain.
⁹ Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
¹⁰ Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
¹¹ Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
¹² Escola Superior de Educação e Comunicação, Campus da Penha, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is a clinical and functional disease characterized by the coexistence of obesity and sarcopenia. Resistance training (RT) characteristics for older adults with sarcopenia or obesity are already well established in the scientific literature. Nonetheless, we still do not know how detailed the RT protocols are described for older adults with SO. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the characteristics of RT programs, including each of their variables, recommended for older adults with SO.

Methods: This is a scoping review study that was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews. The search was carried out until November 2022 in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, LILACS, Google Scholar, and medRxiv databases. The studies included SO diagnosis and RT as an intervention strategy. The RT variables analyzed were as follows: exercise selection, the volume of sets, the intensity of load, repetition cadence, rest interval between sets, and weekly frequency.

Results: A total of 1,693 studies were identified. After applying the exclusion criteria, 15 studies were included in the final analysis. The duration of the RT intervention ranged from 8 to 24 weeks. All studies included full-body routines, with single/multi-joint exercises. Regarding the volume of sets, some studies fixed it in three sets, whereas others varied between one and three sets. The load was reported by repetition range and the weight lifted, elastic-band color/resistance, percentage of one repetition maximum, or perceived exertion scale. Repetition cadence was fixed in some studies, while it was self-selected between concentric and eccentric phases in others. The interval between sets of rest varied from 30 to 180 s. All studies reported progression overload during the interventions. Not all studies reported how the exercise selection, repetition cadence, and rest interval were made.

Conclusion: The characteristics of RT protocols and their variables prescribed in the literature for older adults with SO were mapped. The lack of detail on some training variables (i.e., exercise selection, repetition cadence, and rest interval) was identified. RT protocols are heterogeneous and described only partially among studies. The recommendations for RT prescription details in older adults with SO are provided for future studies.

Systematic review registration: https://osf.io/wzk3d/.

Keywords: body composition; exercise training; periodization; sarcopenia; strength training.

Publication types

Systematic Review