Sarcopenic Obesity in Oman and the Gulf

A Region in Rapid Transition

Oman, like other Gulf countries, has undergone substantial socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle changes over recent decades. These changes have occurred alongside increased exposure to energy-dense foods and substantial levels of insufficient physical activity.[1] National survey data indicate a substantial increase in obesity-related measures among Omani nationals between 2008 and 2017: overweight or obesity increased from approximately 54% to 67%, while obesity increased from approximately 24% to 35%; among women, obesity increased from approximately 24% to 41%.[1] These figures describe Omani nationals specifically and should not be confused with the 2017 survey's overall, combined-population estimates, described below.

These patterns provide a plausible context in which excess adiposity and impaired muscle health could coexist. However, whether sarcopenic obesity occurs earlier or more frequently in Oman than in other populations remains an open empirical question. The available evidence does not currently allow that conclusion to be made.

What We Know: Obesity in Oman

The 2017 WHO STEPS survey provides an important, nationally representative baseline for adult non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in Oman.[1] The survey included 6,582 adults across the country's governorates, both Omani nationals and non-Omani residents. In the overall survey population, 66.1% were overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m²), and 30.7% were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m²). Obesity was 23.2% in men and 39.3% in women.

Two findings from this survey are particularly relevant to muscle-health research. First, insufficient physical activity affected approximately half of women surveyed, compared with about 30% of men. Second, 95% of participants had more than one of the five assessed NCD risk factors, indicating substantial clustering of cardiometabolic and lifestyle-related risk.[1]

The Oman STEPS 2025 survey provides a more recent national assessment among Omani adults.[7] Obesity prevalence was 32.7% overall, 26.4% among men and 39.3% among women. These estimates should not be interpreted as a direct measure of change from 2017: the 2017 figures above describe the combined survey population (Omani and non-Omani residents), while the 2025 figures are Omani-specific, and the two survey rounds may also differ in sampling and procedures.

The Data on Young Adults Specifically

Among Omani women aged 18–24 years, mean BMI was 25.6 kg/m², which falls within the overweight range.[1] In the overall 2017 survey population, 19.8% of adults aged 18–24 years had three or more of the assessed NCD risk factors, and the proportion increased across successive age groups.[1]

A separate 2025 cross-sectional study of 300 students at a university in Oman found that more than 27% were overweight or obese.[2] The study also found an adjusted association between obesity and lower academic performance, with obese students having approximately 6.6% lower academic grades. Because the study was observational and drawn from a single-university convenience sample, these findings should be read as an association rather than evidence that obesity causes poorer academic performance, and they may not generalize to all young adults in Oman.

Together, these findings indicate that excess adiposity and related health-risk profiles are already measurable among young adults in Oman. They do not, however, establish the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in this age group.

What We Know About Muscle Health in the Gulf

Published evidence on sarcopenia and muscle health in Gulf populations is considerably more limited than the available evidence on obesity. A 2023 study of Saudi women illustrates why population-specific reference values may matter.[3] When the EWGSOP2 handgrip-strength threshold of 16 kg was applied, 44% of postmenopausal women and 33.89% of premenopausal women were classified as having probable sarcopenia based on low handgrip strength.

The same study also derived Saudi-specific handgrip-strength thresholds from its own sample. Using the study's lower, 10-kg population-specific threshold changed the estimated prevalence substantially, from 44% to 9.33% in postmenopausal women and from 33.89% to 5% in premenopausal women (an 8-kg threshold was also tested, yielding still lower estimates).[3] These figures illustrate how strongly prevalence estimates depend on the threshold used; they should not be read as proof that one threshold is universally correct, and they describe a Saudi study sample, not an Omani one.

A 2025 study of 387 healthy Saudi women aged 18–25 years, recruited by convenience sampling, derived preliminary population-specific reference values for appendicular lean muscle index (ALMI).[4] Such reference data may help inform future validation of diagnostic thresholds in Saudi and other Gulf populations, but given its convenience-sample, healthy-volunteer design, the study should not be treated as having established a definitive clinical diagnostic cutoff for the entire Saudi population.

Why Population-Specific Cutoffs Matter Here

The Saudi handgrip-strength findings provide a useful regional example of the uncertainty that can arise when diagnostic thresholds developed in one population are applied to another. The broader sarcopenic-obesity field also continues to evolve. The 2022 ESPEN/EASO consensus remains an important international framework,[5] while a 2025 Asia-Oceania consensus subsequently proposed a three-step approach involving screening, diagnosis and intervention, with assessment of muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance alongside measures of adiposity.[6]

For Gulf populations, the practical implication is not that existing international criteria should simply be rejected, but that their performance should be evaluated using appropriate regional reference data and validated thresholds.

The Missing Piece: Sarcopenic Obesity Itself

A targeted literature search did not identify a peer-reviewed Omani study applying a complete sarcopenic-obesity diagnostic framework, combining adiposity with low muscle mass and/or muscle strength or physical performance, to establish prevalence in young adults. Published evidence from the wider Gulf region also appears limited. This is a different research question from asking how common obesity is, or how frequently low muscle mass or low muscle strength occurs when assessed separately.

It's worth distinguishing two different things here. An absence of identified published prevalence evidence is not the same as an absence of research activity. Oman's National Health Research Centre lists an approved project, research identification code 25875, entitled "Metabolomics and genetic factors of sarcopenic obesity in young Omani adults and its management through precision nutrition and physical activity" — this is the project behind this site. A registered project demonstrates that this gap has been identified and is actively being investigated; it does not, on its own, establish the prevalence or clinical characteristics of sarcopenic obesity in the Omani population, since that requires completed, peer-reviewed, published data.

What the Evidence Does Not Establish

To keep the distinction above concrete, the following are not yet established by published evidence:

• The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity among young Omani adults.
• Whether sarcopenic obesity occurs at a younger age in Oman than in other populations.
• Whether international muscle-mass or muscle-strength thresholds are optimal for Omani populations.
• Whether obesity in young Omani adults is accompanied by clinically meaningful reductions in muscle strength or physical performance.
• Which nutritional, metabolic, or genetic factors best predict this phenotype in this population.

What This Research Project Is Doing About It

This is the specific gap that the research project behind this site is designed to help address: characterizing sarcopenic-obesity-related phenotypes in young Omani adults using anthropometric, body-composition, functional, metabolic and molecular (metabolomic and genetic) measures, and investigating whether these findings can inform more personalized nutritional and lifestyle strategies. Rather than assuming that findings from other ethnic, geographic or age groups transfer directly to young Omani adults, the project treats that transfer as an empirical question requiring population-specific data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Al-Mawali A, et al. "Prevalence of risk factors of non-communicable diseases in the Sultanate of Oman: STEPS survey 2017." PLoS ONE, 2021;16(10):e0259239. PMID: 34710161. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259239.
2. Mondal S, et al. "Obesity among college students in Oman: implications for health and academic performance." BMC Public Health, 2025;25:1111. PMCID: PMC11931841.
3. Aljawini N, Habib SS. "Estimation of Sarcopenia Indices in Women from Saudi Arabia in Relation to Menopause and Obesity." Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023;12(20):6642. PMID: 37892780. DOI: 10.3390/jcm12206642.
4. Alhussain MH, et al. "Reference values for the appendicular lean muscle index in healthy young Saudi women: a nutritional perspective." Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025;12:1510432. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1510432.
5. Donini LM, et al. "Definition and Diagnostic Criteria for Sarcopenic Obesity: ESPEN and EASO Consensus Statement." Obesity Facts, 2022;15(3):321-335. PMCID: PMC9210010.
6. Chen TP, et al. "The Asia-Oceania consensus: Definitions and diagnostic criteria for sarcopenic obesity." Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 2025;19(3):185-192. PMID: 40335420. DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2025.05.001.
7. Oman Ministry of Health. Oman STEPS Survey 2025 — Omani adults, fact sheet and databook.

This page is for general education and isn't a substitute for personalized medical advice. Speak with a healthcare provider about your individual risk.