Dietary Fatty Acid Consumption Significantly Associated with Low Muscle Mass

by | Apr 29, 2025 | 2025, Aging, Polyunsaturated, Recent Articles

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Science Writer. Weighted quantile sums analysis also demonstrated that polyunsaturated fatty acids had the most impact in reducing the risk of sarcopenia.

man with weightsDietary fatty acids are essential to managing inflammation and lipid metabolism1,2. Both processes, which are essential to muscle metabolism, are directly influenced by fatty acid intake3,4. Low muscle mass can occur for various reasons including aging, chronic ailments, and malnutrition5-7. In the current study, researchers investigated the association between the types of fatty acids consumed and the presence of low muscle mass8.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES] between 2011-2018 was used for this evaluation. Researchers only included participants over 18 years old with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and complete demographic, laboratory results, and dietary data. Low muscle mass was defined as skeletal muscle mass adjusted by BMI values below 0.512kg/m2 in women and 0.789 kg/m2 in men. Skeletal mass was measured using the arms and legs. Dietary recall was used to quantify dietary intake of fatty acids. Researchers conducted two 24h dietary recall interviews with each eligible participant. Multivariate logistical regression analysis was used to assess any correlation between consumption of different types of dietary fatty acids and the status of muscle mass.

Data from 8,842 participants was used for this evaluation. Among them, 707 were classified as having sarcopenia. Researchers found that except for gender and smoking status, all other baseline characteristics were significantly different between those classified in the sarcopenia versus non-sarcopenia group. Some notable differences included ethnicity (p<0.001), obesity (p<0.001), sedentary behavior (p=0.035), diabetes (p<0.001), and consumption of saturated, mono-unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (p<0.001). Regression analysis showed that individuals in the highest quartile of saturated (Q4: OR=0.51, p=0.002), monounsaturated (Q4: OR=0.52, p<0.001), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (Q4: OR=0.48, p<0.001) had a significantly reduced risk of sarcopenia. Further assessment showed a non-linear dose dependent association between saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid and the risk of sarcopenia (p<0.001). Weighted quantile sums analysis also demonstrated that polyunsaturated fatty acids had the most impact in reducing the risk of sarcopenia with a weight of 0.937, followed by saturated fatty acids (weight=0.057) and monounsaturated fatty acids (weight=0.006). Furthermore, researchers found that linoleic and alpha-linoleic intake was also significantly associated with a reduced risk of low muscle mass (p<0.001). Researchers also found that obesity (p=0.023) plays a significant modifying effect while albumin (p=0.03), white blood cells (p<0.001), bilirubin (p=0.042), and gamma-glutamyltransferase level (p=0.004) play a mediating effect in the relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids and low muscle mass.

Overall, researchers found a significant effect of total fatty acid intake on the risk of low muscle mass with a significant impact specifically related to polyunsaturated fatty acid intake. Researchers also found obesity was a modifying factor suggesting that obesity could play a role in how polyunsaturated fatty acids affect low muscle mass. Mediation analysis revealed several components from various physiological pathways that may play a role in the link between polyunsaturated fatty acids and low muscle mass. Additional studies will be needed to elucidate how these pathways affect the relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids and low muscle mass.

Source: Zou, Haiyu, Liangrong Zheng, and Chunlai Zeng. “Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Reduced Risk of Low Muscle Mass in Adults.” Nutrients 17, no. 5 (2025): 858.

© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/).

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Posted April 29, 2025.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

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