Research News

Obesity-linked frailty


Abdominal obesity may act as a precursor to frailty in old age.

Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Identifying adults at high risk of frailty and implementing appropriate interventions are critical for extending healthy life expectancy. 

To examine whether abdominal obesity predicts frailty progression, Professor Hisayo Yokoyama from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Research Center for Urban Health and Sports conducted a retrospective cohort study on 2,962 community-dwelling adults aged 30–79 years in Osaka, Japan over the course of a year. 

Data was collected from 2,962 individuals who completed annual surveys through a health application in both 2023 and 2024 and had available waist circumference data. Frailty was assessed using the Kihon Checklist. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of frailty progression. 

At baseline (2023), 23% of participants had abdominal obesity, and 18% were categorized as frail. Among 2,431 participants who were non-frail at baseline, the incidence of frailty after one year was significantly higher among those with abdominal obesity than those without. However, in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, frailty awareness, regular exercise habits, and prefrailty status were significant predictors of frailty development, whereas abdominal obesity was not independently associated with frailty progression after adjustment.

Although abdominal obesity was associated with frailty onset in crude analyses, this association became non-significant after adjustment. Greater frailty awareness and regular exercise appear to reduce the risk of frailty development, suggesting that lifestyle education and public awareness initiatives may help mitigate the impact of abdominal obesity on frailty progression.

Paper information

Journal: Geriatrics
Title: Impact of Abdominal Obesity on Frailty Development: A Web-Based Survey Using a Smartphone Health App
DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics10060147
Authors: Hisayo Yokoyama
Published: 8 November 2025
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics10060147

Contact

Hisayo Yokoyama
Research Center for Urban Health and Sports
Email: yokoyama_hisayo [at] omu.ac.jp

*Please change [at] to @.