Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26285605›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2016

The bigger, the stronger? Insights from muscle architecture and nervous characteristics in obese adolescent girls.

S Garcia-Vicencio, E Coudeyre, V Kluka, C Cardenoux, A-G Jegu, A-V Fourot, S Ratel, V Martin

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.5field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Knee Extensor Structure and Function in Children, Adolescents, Adults, and Older Adults With Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Active Video Games Improve Muscular Fitness and Motor Skills in Children with Overweight or Obesity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
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  17. The effects of diet composition and chronic obesity on muscle growth and function.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

S Garcia-VicencioUniversité Clermont Auvergne, Université Blaise Pascal, EA 3533, Laboratoire des Adaptations Métaboliques à l'Exercice en conditions Physiologiques et Pathologiques (AME2P), BP 10448, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
E CoudeyreClermont University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
V KlukaUniversité Clermont Auvergne, Université Blaise Pascal, EA 3533, Laboratoire des Adaptations Métaboliques à l'Exercice en conditions Physiologiques et Pathologiques (AME2P), BP 10448, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
C CardenouxClermont University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
A-G JeguClermont University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
A-V FourotMECSS Tza Nou, La Bourboule, France.
S RatelUniversité Clermont Auvergne, Université Blaise Pascal, EA 3533, Laboratoire des Adaptations Métaboliques à l'Exercice en conditions Physiologiques et Pathologiques (AME2P), BP 10448, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
V MartinUniversité Clermont Auvergne, Université Blaise Pascal, EA 3533, Laboratoire des Adaptations Métaboliques à l'Exercice en conditions Physiologiques et Pathologiques (AME2P), BP 10448, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Université Clermont Auvergne · FRUnité de Nutrition Humaine · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundYoung obese youth are generally stronger than lean youth. This has been linked to the loading effect of excess body mass, acting as a training stimulus comparable to strength training. Whether this triggers specific adaptations of the muscle architecture (MA) and voluntary activation (VA) that could account for the higher strength of obese subjects remains unknown.

methodsMA characteristics (that is, pennation angle (PA), fascicle length (FL) and muscle thickness (MT)) and muscle size (that is, anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA)) of the knee extensor (KE) and plantar flexor (PF) muscles were evaluated in 12 obese and 12 non-obese adolescent girls (12-15 years). Maximal isometric torque and VA of the KE and PF muscles were also assessed.

resultsResults revealed higher PA (P<0.05), greater MT (P<0.001), ACSA (P<0.01), segmental lean mass (P<0.001) and VA (P<0.001) for KE and PF muscles in obese girls. Moreover, obese individuals produced a higher absolute torque than their lean counterparts on the KE (224.6±39.5 vs 135.7±32.7 N m, respectively; P<0.001) and PF muscles (73.3±16.5 vs 44.5±6.2 N m; P<0.001). Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was correlated to PA for the KE (r=0.46-0.57, P<0.05-0.01) and PF muscles (r=0.45-0.55, P<0.05-0.01). MVC was also correlated with VA (KE: r=0.44, P<0.05; PF: r=0.65, P<0.001) and segmental lean mass (KE: r=0.48, P<0.05; PF: r=0.57, P<0.01).

conclusionsThis study highlighted favorable muscular and nervous adaptations to obesity that account for the higher strength of obese youth. The excess of body mass supported during daily activities could act as a chronic training stimulus responsible for these adaptations.

Indexed as

AdolescentBiomechanical PhenomenaBody Fat DistributionFemaleHumansKnee JointMuscle, SkeletalMuscle StrengthPediatric ObesityReproducibility of ResultsResistance TrainingThinness

Identifiers

PMID26285605
OpenAlexW1141856823

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.