Do you have….. Sarcopenia?

The best literal definition of the Greek word Sarcopenia is muscle wasting; and its name pretty much says it all. Once it fully sets in, a death spiral of events start to kick in, and the loss of muscle mass progresses steadily until a point of complete disability is reached. It is not known exactly when this debilitating condition starts, but estimates range from as early as 30 to 50 years of age; and there is unanimous agreement that it begins to accelerate more universally throughout the population at around the age of 60; and can progress very fast once the age of 70 is reached.

Roughly 45% of the U.S. population is sarcopenic. At the younger ages, loss of muscle mass could easily be attributed to a lack of physical activity. It is estimated that muscle mass starts to decrease in Americans at a rate of about 1.5% per year, at around the age of 30. But once a person reaches the age of 60, metabolic and chemical changes start to take place that seem to cause a decrease in muscle mass even amongst the moderately active. At the age of 70 this loss can be as high as 30% per year. This loss is caused by a combination of factors, including changes in amounts and types of hormones and growth factors that both inhibit the growth of muscle, while at the same time causing the size and number of muscle fibers to decrease. An exchange of muscle fiber type also takes place, with fast twitch fibers dying out, and slow twitch fibers trying to take up the slack, which they cannot do very well because of the demand that is put on them for which they are not well designed. Also protein synthesis, the process by which protein is converted to muscle, decreases dramatically. A change of gene expression rounds out the cascading physiological phenomenon that orchestrate what could easily be the grand finale without proper intervention, since the loss of muscle makes it even harder to participate in physical activity, and when that happens the downward spiral progresses rapidly.

As dismal as all this sounds, more and more research is proving that this does not need to become the debilitating condition that it is capable of. And all of the research is pointing to one thing that can slow, and in most cases reverse Sarcopenia, stopping it in its tracks, and eliciting muscle growth in its place. Resistance Training (RT) is becoming the savior to many a senior that without it would quickly have lost their ability to function at a level that would allow them to continue to live independently. Some of the early research on the effects of RT on sarcopenia showed mixed results, or little or no improvement; but it was later discovered that the level of the intensity of the exercises was to blame. Every current study, that is using higher intensity RT is either dramatically reducing the progress, or in most cases reversing the effects of sarcopenia. Certainly proper nutrition is important, but it is the high intensity RT that is being given credit for the turnaround.

It is never too early and never too late to start to take action to do what is necessary to prevent this debilitating condition. And it has been shown that the more muscle mass that is present at the time of the onset of sarcopenia, the better off one is in fighting its progression; so to start a program of RT even in your twenties would seem like a prudent step to take.

There are several other diseases, such as osteoporosis and diabetes that are also proving to be greatly helped by participating in a resistance training program; and it seems that the fitness industry is beginning to wake up to the evidence that is pouring in that is indicating that RT needs to start to take on a bigger role in the importance given it as a crucial ingredient of a health promotion and disease prevention program; maybe even superseding aerobic fitness in this regard.

But whatever you decide to do given this evidence, please if nothing else, make a commitment to get more physical activity of any kind into your lifestyle starting now.

Healthfully yours,
Scott Beardsley

References:

Sarcopenia
Western Washington University Home

What’s sarcopenia and what can you do about it?
How Stuff  Works

Sarcopenia: The Mystery of Muscle Loss
University of New Mexico

Sarcopenia and Whey Proteins
Better Whey of Life

Sarcopenia and aging
University of Utah