Posted on 12/08/2021 8:30:24 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Weakening muscles are a natural part of the aging process, but for some people with a condition called sarcopenia the decline is abnormally fast. A new study suggests that the early stages of sarcopenia could be counteracted with timely interventions designed to preserve physical and cognitive function and manage chronic conditions.
As we age, we start to lose muscle mass and function. When this decline is more extensive or rapid than expected, it is categorized as sarcopenia, a common condition in the elderly that often lowers their quality of life and increases the risk of falls and bone fractures.
Researchers have now examined how different factors such as sex, age, educational level, living arrangement, lifestyle and chronic conditions affected the development of sarcopenia in people aged 60 or over across a 12-year period.
At the start of the study, almost 10 percent of the participants had sarcopenia, 27 percent had probable sarcopenia and just over 63 percent no sarcopenia. Metrics such as grip strength, walking speed, speed of rising from a chair five times and calf circumference were used to evaluate muscle strength and mass and physical performance.
"Perhaps the most interesting result was that after five years, a roughly equal proportion (just over 10 percent) of the individuals with probable sarcopenia had either improved or deteriorated. This suggests that sarcopenia is a dynamic condition that is modifiable especially in the initial stages, which is a hopeful message," says author Caterina Trevisan.
Factors that could be associated with an increased chance of improvement and lower mortality were physical activity and higher results on cognitive tests, while a higher number of chronic conditions, male sex and older age had the opposite correlation. For severe sarcopenia, the likelihood of improvement was low, and many of them died during follow-up (almost 71 percent).
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
“Weakening muscles are a natural part of the aging process”
I can disagree. I can walk 18 holes on a hilly golf course at age 81. Muscles get weak due to 1 main reason...lack of use.
I use treadmill daily combined with some light weight lifting. I do not notice much loss at all in my muscle strength. In fact my hip joint and knee joints have become pain free from daily treadmill fast walk set at 2 degrees up.
Physical exercise is by far the strongest stimulation to stave off dementia/cognitive decline, as well as preventing muscle loss.
It is about ten times more potent then purely mental tasks, like crossword puzzles, or such.
Walk time and speed on the treadmill?
Read the ratings. Interesting.
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