Study
Effects of Omega-3 Supplementation in Sarcopenia After Bariatric Surgery: A Triple-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
In 58 bariatric-surgery patients, 2,000 mg/day EPA+DHA did not prevent muscle loss or improve grip strength or timed up-and-go at 105 days.
Summary Can omega-3 supplements prevent muscle loss after weight-loss surgery? Show / hide ↓
Researchers studied 58 people having bariatric surgery, or surgery to help with major weight loss. They took either 2,000 milligrams of omega-3 fats daily or a sunflower-oil placebo, meaning an inactive substitute, starting 15 days before surgery and continuing for 75 days afterward. After 105 days, both groups had lost muscle, with losses of about 3.1 kilograms and 2.2 kilograms. Tests of hand strength and timed walking, standing, and sitting also showed no clear benefit from omega-3. Muscle was estimated using bioelectrical impedance, a painless test that estimates body composition using a small electrical signal.
What this means for you: For people having bariatric surgery, this study gives no reason to buy omega-3 supplements to prevent early muscle loss. It was small and short, and it does not show whether omega-3 helps with normal aging-related muscle loss or longer-term recovery.
early evidenceThis triple-blind randomised trial enrolled 58 people undergoing bariatric surgery, 81% of them women, with mean age 38.2 years and mean body mass index 41.1 kg/m². Participants received 2,000 mg/day of EPA plus DHA or sunflower-oil placebo for 90 days: 15 days before surgery and 75 days afterwards. Researchers assessed bioelectrical-impedance muscle mass, handgrip strength, and timed up-and-go at baseline, day 45, and day 105 from supplementation start. The groups were similar at baseline in weight, muscle mass, grip strength, and timed up-and-go. Muscle mass fell significantly in both groups between baseline and day 105, by 3.1±0.3 kg in one group and 2.2±0.5 kg in the other. The abstract concludes that omega-3 did not prevent muscle loss or improve strength or functional performance during this early postoperative period. It was safe and well tolerated. This is a useful negative result in a clinically specific setting. It does not test normal aging-related sarcopenia, and bioelectrical impedance is a body-composition measurement rather than a direct clinical outcome. The short perioperative window also leaves longer-term effects unanswered.
Perioperative omega-3 supplementation did not prevent muscle mass loss or improve strength or functional performance within 105 days.
The study had 58 participants and follow-up only to 105 days in people having bariatric surgery. Muscle mass was assessed by bioelectrical impedance, and the result does not generalise directly to healthy adults or long-term sarcopenia prevention.
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