To many of you, sarcopenic obesity is probably something that you’ve not heard about and it is however something that as a weight loss surgeon I am familiar with and have to also treat. Sarcopenic obesity reflects that a patient has a decline in muscle mass and function, but has an increased amount of adipose or fat tissue. This can cause significant issues, such as problems with mobility, strength, and stability. There are several studies that have shown that for our best quality of life as we age, mobility is key to ensuring this greater quality of life.
One of the ways to assess muscle mass is to do a body composition analysis. I do this analysis in the office for our patients before and after weight loss surgery as well as in some patients who are on weight loss medication. What a body composition analysis allows us to do is assess where a patients muscle is, if it is in the normal range and also assess the quality of the muscle. With that analysis, we can address areas that need to have more muscle and that will also help patients work on these body parts to build up muscle into more normal range. When we assess patients after significant weight loss, there will be some reduction in muscle throughout the body, and by having that comparison of before, and after, we can address which muscle groups really need to be worked upon. In addition in our office, we do offer Tru Flex, which is a way to stimulate the muscles to help make them, stronger and bigger, therefore increasing the muscle mass of the body.
Many of you are aware of the need for core strength and in some of my patients they can benefit from increasing the muscle in the abdominal wall. Having core health can help with stability as well as balance. Core health can also affect some G.I. function as well. If you haven’t already, do you come in to discuss sarcoptic obesity with my cell or Leslie and we can also check and see how you may benefit from targeted exercise or even the Tru Flex procedure.
M. Kurian, MD, FACS,FASMBS, DABOM, DABS-FPMBS
