Effects of Whole-body Electromyostimulation and Dietary Supplements on Sarcopenic Obesity

Effects of Whole-body Electromyostimulation and Dietary Supplements on Sarcopenic Obesity in Elderly Females Living in the Community

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02356016

Enrollment

Registered

2015-02-05

Start date

2013-08-31

Completion date

2016-05-31

Last updated

2016-05-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Sarcopenic Obesity

Keywords

Sarcopenic Obesity, community dwelling elderly women, electromyostimulation, exercise, dietary supplements

Brief summary

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of whole body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) and/or nutritional on body composition and functional tasks in elderly females with sarcopenic obesity. Seventy-five, non-sportive, independently living women 70 years and older with Sarcopenic Obesity were randomly assigned to either a WB-EMS group ( n=25), a WB-EMS/nutritional supplements (n=25) or a semi-active control group (an=25). The WB-EMS protocol applied one session of 18 min/week of WB-EMS (bipolar, 85 Hz). Nutritional strategy based on a high protein supplement.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALWB-EMS-Intervention and dietary supplementation

Supervised WB-EMS Intervention and dietary supplementation and monthly dietary counseling for 6 months

OTHERcontrol (dietary counseling)

Monthly dietary counseling only

BEHAVIORALWB-EMS Intervention

Supervised WB-EMS Intervention 18 min/session (one session/week) and monthly dietary counseling for 6 months

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

70 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* community dwelling * Sarcopenic Obesity

Exclusion criteria

* exercising more than 60 min/week * more than 4 weeks absent during the interventional period, * injuries (i.e. hip TotalEndoProsthesis (TEP), abdomen/groin hernia) or diseases (i.e. epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia) that prevent WB-EMS intervention * medication and/or diseases affecting our primary endpoints.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Appendicular skeletal muscle mass	baseline - 6 months follow-up	changes of appendicular skeletal muscle mass from baseline to 6 month follow-up
Intramuscular fat content	baseline - 6 months follow-up	changes of Intramuscular fat content (thigh) from baseline to 6 month follow-up
Muscle density of the medial thigh	baseline - 6 months follow-up	changes of muscle density (thigh) from baseline to 6 month follow-up

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Hand grip of the dominant hand	baseline - 6 months follow-up	Maximum isometric strength of the dominant hand (dynamometer)
muscular power of the legs	baseline - 6 months follow-up	Muscular power of the legs (jumping test), by Leonardo (Novotec, Germany)
Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)	baseline - 6 months follow-up	SPPB according to Guralnik et al. (J Gerontol Med Sci1994; 49(2):M85-M94)
Muscle cross sectional area (CSA)	baseline - 6 months follow-up	changes of muscle CSA (thigh) from baseline to 6 month follow-up
Isokinetic leg strength	baseline - 6 months follow-up	changes of isokinetic leg strength from baseline to 6 month follow-up

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Balance according to SPPB	baseline - 6 months follow-up	Balance according to SPPB (see above), Soehnle balance platform device (Soehnle Germany)
Trial Making Tests A and B	baseline - 6 months follow-up	TMT-L: Trail Making Test - Langensteinbacher version.
Quality of life	baseline - 6 months follow-up	Quality of Life: EUROQuOI questionnaire

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026