{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T09:24:38Z","timestamp":1765185878530,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764806400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100011913","name":"Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KSE107-018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSE107-018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100011913","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003835","name":"I-Shou University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ISU-114-IUC-05"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ISU-114-IUC-05"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003835","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004663","name":"National Science and Technology Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NSTC 114-2320-B-214-001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NSTC 114-2320-B-214-001"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004663","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Sarcopenia may be influenced by lifestyle and dietary factors. Emerging evidence suggests that certain foods such as sea vegetables and fruits contain bioactive compounds may help protect against muscle loss. This study investigated the association between sea vegetable and fruit intake and the risk of sarcopenia and physical performance in older adults in Taiwan. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 588 individuals aged \u226565 years recruited from three hospitals (outpatient and home-care settings) in southern Taiwan (2018\u20132020). Questionnaire, medical chart, and laboratory data were used to examine the associations between demographic characteristics, dietary intake, and nutritional status and sarcopenia, defined as low muscle mass plus reduced strength or poor physical performance. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. The performance variables we measured were grip strength, gait speed, and chair stand time. Logistic regression was used to identify associated factors, and linear regression was used to assess the contributions of these factors to performance measures. Results: Sarcopenia was identified in 159 (27.0%) of the 588 participants. Those with sarcopenia had lower education levels, poorer nutritional status, weaker grip strength, and slower mobility. Daily intakes of sea vegetables (adjusted OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20\u20130.74) and fresh fruits (adjusted OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.16\u20130.49) were independently associated with reduced risk of sarcopenia. Sea vegetable intake was positively associated with grip strength, while fruit intake was inversely associated with chair stand time. Conclusions: Dietary factors and nutritional status were significantly associated with sarcopenia risk and physical performance. Sarcopenia prevention strategies might want to include promoting the consumption of sea vegetables and fruits.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17233805","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T15:14:06Z","timestamp":1764861246000},"page":"3805","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sea Vegetables and Fruits as Novel Dietary Protective Factors for Sarcopenia and Muscle Function in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Chi-Hsien","family":"Huang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine and Community Medicine, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan"},{"name":"College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan"},{"name":"College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pei-Fang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nutrition Division, Pingtung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Pingtung 90003, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tzyh-Chyuan","family":"Hour","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huei-Mei","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, Pingtung Veterans General Hospital Longquan Branch, Pingtung 912012, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hsin-Yi","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 81341, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9911-2333","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yu-Kuei","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155533","DOI":"10.1016\/j.metabol.2023.155533","article-title":"Epidemiology of sarcopenia: Prevalence, risk factors, and consequences","volume":"144","author":"Yuan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Metabolism"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1093\/ageing\/afy169","article-title":"Sarcopenia: Revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis","volume":"48","author":"Bahat","year":"2019","journal-title":"Age Ageing"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, J., Zhu, Y., Tan, J.K., Ismail, A.H., Ibrahim, R., and Hassan, N.H. 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