Trial reportThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2013
Fat mass loss predicts gain in physical function with intentional weight loss in older adults.
Trial report in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- GLP1Ra-based therapies and DXA-acquired musculoskeletal health outcomes: a focused meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Nutritional Advice for Community-Dwelling Obese Older Adults With Frailty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Long-term change in body composition following intentional weight loss and its effect on physical function.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Trial
- Association Between Changes in Body Composition and Physical Function After Intensive Behavioral Weight-loss Intervention: A Look AHEAD Trial Subgroup Analysis.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The Association of Prior Intensive Lifestyle Intervention and Diabetes Support and Education With Frailty Prevalence at Long-Term Follow-Up in the Action for Health in Diabetes Extension Study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Effects of resistance training with and without caloric restriction on physical function and mobility in overweight and obese older adults: a randomized controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2015Trial
- Meal-based enhancement of protein quality and quantity during weight loss in obese older adults with mobility limitations: rationale and design for the MEASUR-UP trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2015Trial
- Resting ventricular-vascular function and exercise capacity in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a RELAX trial ancillary study.Circulation. Heart failure · 2014Trial
- Effect of an 18-month physical activity and weight loss intervention on body composition in overweight and obese older adults.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2014Trial
- The impact of lifestyle-based weight loss in older adults with obesity on muscle and bone health: a balancing act.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Review
- Changes in weight and physical function for older African American women in Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS): Study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- The modifying role of physical activity in the cross-sectional and longitudinal association of health-related quality of life with physiological functioning-based latent classes and metabolic syndrome.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2020Article
- Association of Sex or Race With the Effect of Weight Loss on Physical Function: A Secondary Analysis of 8 Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2020Article
- Adult obesity and mid-life physical functioning in two British birth cohorts: investigating the mediating role of physical inactivity.International journal of epidemiology · 2020Article
- Effects of a lifestyle intervention on body composition in prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy.JCSM clinical reports · 2020Article
- Pathophysiology of Exercise Intolerance and Its Treatment With Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention · 2020Review
- A Review of the Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors on Lean Body Mass in Humans.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2019Review
- Associations of Weight Change With Changes in Calf Muscle Characteristics and Functional Decline in Peripheral Artery Disease.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedKrichevsky, Stephen B [Corrected to Kritchevsky, Stephen B]
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundClinical recommendation of weight loss (WL) in older adults remains controversial, partially due to concerns regarding lean mass loss and potential loss of physical function. The purpose of this study is to determine the independent associations between changes in fat and lean mass and changes in physical function in older, overweight, and obese adults undergoing intentional WL.
methodsData from three randomized-controlled trials of intentional WL in older adults with similar functional outcomes (short physical performance battery and Pepper assessment tool for disability) were combined. Analyses of covariance models were used to investigate relationships between changes in weight, fat, and lean mass (acquired using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and changes in physical function.
resultsOverall loss of body weight was -7.8 ± 6.1 kg (-5.6 ± 4.1 kg and -2.7 ± 2.4 kg of fat and lean mass, respectively). In all studies combined, after adjustment for age, sex, and height, overall WL was associated with significant improvements in self-reported mobility disability (p < .01) and walking speed (p < .01). Models including change in both fat and lean mass as independent variables found only the change in fat mass to significantly predict change in mobility disability (β[fat] = 0.04; p < .01) and walking speed (β[fat] = -0.01; p < .01).
conclusionsResults from this study demonstrate that loss of body weight, following intentional WL, is associated with significant improvement in self-reported mobility disability and walking speed in overweight and obese older adults. Importantly, fat mass loss was found to be a more significant predictor of change in physical function than lean mass loss.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.