Impact of Body Mass Index on Muscle Strength, Thicknesses, and Fiber Composition in Young Women

Eun-Sook Sung, Ahreum Han, Timo Hinrichs, Matthias Vorgerd and Petra Platen ()
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Eun-Sook Sung: Department of Physical Education, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Ahreum Han: Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Nutrition, Faculty of Sport Science, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Timo Hinrichs: Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Nutrition, Faculty of Sport Science, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Matthias Vorgerd: Department of Neurology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Kliniken Bergmannsheil, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Petra Platen: Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Nutrition, Faculty of Sport Science, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-9

Abstract: High body mass index (BMI) may influence muscle strength, muscle thickness (Mtk), and fiber composition. We evaluated these parameters in 31 and 27 women grouped in non-oral contraceptive (non-OC) groups and OC groups, respectively, and further divided them into groups based on BMI: BMI low , BMI norm , and BMI high . Maximum isometric force (F max ), Mtk, and the relative percentage of muscle fiber composition (%) were examined in both groups. F max and Mtk values were significantly greater in the BMI high than the BMI low within the OC group. However, there was no significant difference in the non-OC group. BMI low and BMI norm groups showed a difference in the distribution of muscle fiber types 1 and 2 with almost the same proportions in both non-OC and OC groups. However, the BMI high group showed a difference in the distribution of muscle fiber types 1 and 2, with type 1 about 18.76% higher in the non-OC group. Contrastively, type 2 was about 34.35% higher in the OC group. In this study, we found that there was a significant difference in F max and Mtk according to the BMI level in the OC group, but no significant difference was found in the non-OC group. Moreover, the distribution of type 2 muscle fibers tended to be higher in the OC group of BMI high , although the sample size was small. Therefore, although no significant difference of F max and Mtk was found according to BMI level in the non-OC group in this study, the increase in BMI level appeared to be more associative of muscle strength in the OC group. Based on the present results, future studies are needed that consider the BMI level as well as the presence or absence of OC in future research about women’s muscle strength.

Keywords: body mass index; menstrual cycle; muscle diameter; muscle strength; muscle fiber type (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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