Baker JF, Giles JT, Weber D, et al. - Low lean mass and sarcopenic obesity were more common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients than in the general population. The newly verified methods distinguished body composition changes from traditional methods and were more strongly related to physical function.

• In individuals with RA, the prevalence of low lean mass and sarcopenic obesity was higher than in the reference population cohorts.

• There was only moderate agreement across sarcopenic obesity categorization approaches (Kappa 0.45).

• The newly validated technique classified fewer people as obese, and many of these were classified as having low lean mass only.

• Low lean mass, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity were all linked to higher HAQ and lower Short Physical Performance Battery at baseline, as well as numerically worsening.