Introduction. Visual acuity decline is common in older adults and is likely related to decreased muscle strength. Muscle strength is highly correlated with muscle mass, and muscle loss is the starting point for weakness. With age, the two processes may become uncoupled, leading to a state of high fat mass with relatively low muscle mass, termed sarcopenic obesity. Body composition studies can estimate the additional risk associated with a state of high adiposity and low muscle mass compared with non-sarcopenic obesity. Such insights would have new clinical therapeutic implications for visual impairment, allowing for the development and evaluation of sarcopenic-targeted therapies. The aim of the study is to examine the association of body composition, as defined by the relative presence of obesity and sarcopenia, with the risk of visual impairment. Material and methods. A total of 1653 subjects were included in the study. Participants’ visual acuity was measured with and without glasses at a distance of 4 m using the Jean vision chart. Fat and muscle mass were estimated using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Sarcopenia was determined using the modified residual method. Subjects were then divided into four body types based on gender. Binomial regression with robust variance estimation was used to calculate the relative risk (RR). The level of statistical significance was defined as p