Six months of isoflavone supplement increases fat-free mass in obese-sarcopenic postmenopausal women: a randomized double-blind controlled trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify if six months of isoflavone supplementation could increase fat-free mass (FFM) and muscle mass index (MMI=appendicular FFM/height(2)) in obese-sarcopenic postmenopausal women. Design: Double-blind randomized study. Subject: Eighteen sarcopenic-obese women completed the study (12 on isoflavones and six on placebo). Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Subjects ingested 70mg of isoflavones per day (44mg of diadzein, 16mg glycitein and 10mg genestein) or a placebo for 24 weeks. Results: The isoflavone group increased significantly appendicular (P=0.034), leg (P=0.016) FFM and MMI (P=0.037), but not the placebo group. Conclusion: Six months of isoflavone supplementation increased FFM and MMI in obese-sarcopenic postmenopausal women.