Obesity is globally a serious public health concern and is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and various types of cancers. It is important to evaluate various types of obesity, such as visceral and sarcopenic obesity. The evidence on the associated risk of CVD, cancer and sarcopenic obesity, including pathophysiological aspects, occurrence, clinical implications and survival, needs further investigation. Sarcopenic obesity is a relatively new term. It is a clinical condition that primarily affects older adults. There are several endocrine-hormonal, metabolic and lifestyle aspects involved in the occurrence of sarcopenic obesity that affect pathophysiological aspects that, in turn, contribute to CVD and neoplasms. However, there is no available evidence on the role of sarcopenic obesity in the occurrence of CVD and cancer and its pathophysiological interplay. Therefore, this review aims to describe the pathophysiological aspects and the clinical and epidemiological evidence on the role of sarcopenic obesity related to the occurrence and mortality risk of various types of cancer and cardiovascular disease. This literature review highlights the need for further research on sarcopenic obesity to demonstrate the interrelation of these various associations.

To analyse the accuracy of grip strength and gait speed in identifying mortality; to compare the association between mortality and sarcopenia defined by the EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 using the best cut-off found in the present study and those recommended in the literature and to test whether slowness is better than these two definitions to identify the risk of death in older adults. a longitudinal study was conducted involving 6,182 individuals aged 60 or older who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Sarcopenia was defined based on the EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 using different cut-off for low muscle strength (LMS). Mortality was analysed in a 14-year follow-up. compared with the LMS definitions in the literature (<32, <30, <27 and < 26 kg for men; <21, <20 and < 16 kg for women), the cut-off of <36 kg for men (sensitivity = 58.59%, specificity = 72.96%, area under the curve [AUC] = 0.66) and < 23 kg for women (sensitivity = 68.90%, specificity = 59.03%, AUC = 0.64) as well as a low gait speed (LGS) ≤0.8 m/s (sensitivity = 53.72%, specificity = 74.02%, AUC = 0.64) demonstrated the best accuracy for mortality. Using the cut-off found in the present study, probable sarcopenia [HR = 1.30 (95%CI: 1.16–1.46)], sarcopenia [HR = 1.48 (95%CI: 1.24–1.78)] and severe sarcopenia [HR = 1.78 (95%CI: 1.49–2.12)] according to EWGSOP2 were better predictors of mortality risk than EWGSOP1. LGS ≤0.8 m/s was a better mortality risk predictor only when LMS was defined by low cut-off. using LMS <36 kg for men and < 23 kg for women and LGS ≤ 0.8 m/s, EWGSOP2 was the best predictor for mortality risk in older adults.

Key words: Dietetics; Eating; Neoplasms; Quality of life

Appetite and symptoms, conditions generally reported by the patients with cancer, are somewhat challenging for professionals to measure directly in clinical routine (latent conditions). Therefore, specific instruments are required for this purpose. This study aimed to perform a cultural adaptation of the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ), into Portuguese and evaluate its psychometric properties on a sample of Brazilian cancer patients. This is a validation study with Brazilian cancer patients. The face, content, and construct (factorial and convergent) validities of the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire, the study tool, were estimated. Further, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. The ratio of chi-square and degrees of freedom (χ²/df), comparative fit index (CFI), goodness of fit index (GFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used for fit model assessment. In addition, the reliability of the instrument was estimated using the composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α), and the invariance of the model in independent samples was estimated by a multigroup analysis (Δχ²). Participants included 1,140 cancer patients with a mean age of 53.95 (SD = 13.25) years; 61.3% were women. After the CFA of the original CASQ structure, 2 items with inadequate factor weights were removed. Four correlations between errors were included to provide adequate fit to the sample (χ²/df = 8.532, CFI = .94, GFI = .95, and RMSEA = .08). The model exhibited a low convergent validity (AVE = .32). The reliability was adequate (CR = .82 α = .82). The refined model showed strong invariance in two independent samples (Δχ²: λ: p = .855; i: p = .824; Res: p = .390). A weak stability was obtained between patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy (Δχ²: λ: p = .155; i: p < .001; Res: p < .001), and between patients undergoing chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy and palliative care (Δχ²: λ: p = .058; i: p < .001; Res: p < .001). The Portuguese version of the CASQ had good face and construct validity and reliability. However, the CASQ still presented invariance in independent samples of Brazilian patients with cancer. However, the tool has low convergent validity and weak invariance in samples with different treatments.

The challenge in the search for relationships between urban space, physical mobility, and health status, is detecting indicators able to link the environment with healthy life habits. Therefore, the objective was to design an urban index for the identification of urban environment propensity for physical activity (PA) and to determine how it relates to lifestyle and anthropometric parametrization of obesity. Participants (N = 318–60.4% women and 39.6% men) were recruited from a mid-sized city with epidemiology and morbidity rates below the average for the mid-west region of Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was measured and a questionnaire was applied to gather information about PA and life habits. The spatial urban health index (SUHI) was designed in a geographic information system using data from demographic, environmental and urban physical features. The relationship between BMI and PA was verified with multiple linear regression, controlled for SUHI levels. Regarding the BMI of the population, 69.5% were classified in the eutrophic or overweight ranges, with no effect of gender and age. The SUHI classified 63.7% of the urban area favorable to PA. The PA routine was adequate (≥3 sessions with ≥1 h each) for ~80% of the population, as well as healthy habits such as non smoking (~94%) and non alcohol abuse (~55%). The SUHI strengthens the relationships of BMI to weekly frequency (r = -0.68; t = -9.4; p<0.001) and session duration (r = -0.66; t = -2.8; p<0.001) for the whole group by improving the explanatory coefficient in ~25% (R²_Adj = 0.61 to R²_Adj = 0.85). The SUHI indicated that the urban environment is able to promote healthy life habits by diminishing the “obesogenic” features of the city when physical structures are planned to facilitate PA, whatever the gender and age group.

Revista oficial de la Sociedad Española de Nutrición Parenteral y de la Sociedad Española de Nutrición. Está dedicada al estudio y divulgación de temas relacionados con la nutrición.